Atlantic City Race Course
Encyclopedia
The Atlantic City Race Course (ACRC), formerly the Atlantic City Race Track, is a thoroughbred
horse race track
located in the Mays Landing
section of Hamilton Township
, in Atlantic County
, New Jersey
, United States
. The track is located off the Black Horse Pike (U.S. Route 322
) next to the Hamilton Mall
. Despite the name, the facility is located 14 miles (22.5 km) from Atlantic City
.
The main track is 1⅛ miles in length and 100 feet (30.5 m) wide, with a 7 furlong chute. The stretch portion of the main track is 947.29 feet (288.7 m). The turf course is a 100 feet (30.5 m) wide, one mile (1.6 km) oval. The stands offer a seating capacity of 10,000, with standing room available for 25,000. In all, ACRC covers over 250 acres (1 km²) of land.
, who created the race course together with Fred C. Scholler, Glendon Robertson and James "Sonny" Fraser. Shareholders included show business
personalities Frank Sinatra
, Bob Hope
, Harry James
, Sammy Kaye
and Xavier Cugat
.
Kelso
, considered to be among the best racehorses of the twentieth century, made his two-year-old debut on September 4, 1959 at ACRC, at that time one of the country's premier tracks.
On August 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 1969 an estimated 100,000 people attended the Atlantic City Pop Festival
at the race course. The overwhelming turn out was an unexpected and controversial state of affairs, as local government agencies and police departments strained to respond to the harbinger of the Woodstock Festival
in upstate New York just a few weeks later. Roads approaching the race course were clogged with young people who spontaneously arrived to attend, forming an ad-hoc hippy hollow in the surrounding forest areas in the vicinity.
In the late 1970s, the opening of casinos in Atlantic City had an impact on track attendance as did later competition for quality horses from racino-type venues in regional states. Over time, ACRC could not operate profitably as attendance and handle dropped off year by year. Track owner Bob Levy announced the facility would hold a final abbreviated race meet in 1998, then close, presumably at the end of that year. The track remains open, however, operating short, fair-like meets in order to retain its simulcast permit. In 2001, the track was sold to the owners of Philadelphia Park Racetrack
and is now primarily a simulcast facility. From 1998 to the present, ACRC conducted live race meets of between four and 10 days per year.
On November 16, 2006 Hal Handel, CEO of Greenwood Racing, announced that ACRC would increase live racing dates from 4 days per year to up to 20 days per year. In 2008, racing took place on six days; April 23, 24, 25, 30, May 1, and 2. The New Jersey Racing Commission ordered the track to offer 20 days of racing in 2009, but reduced the mandate to six when the track agreed to forego its pursuit of purse subsidy monies from an agreement between the New Jersey horse racing industry and the Atlantic City casinos.
. The office park, which would be called the "NextGen International Aviation Center for Excellence" would contain six office buildings totaling between 400,000 and 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) on the site of the parking lot, corporate and academic housing on the current site of the stables (which would be moved), as well as a transit center, which would replace the current "Convenience center" in the Hamilton Mall parking lot. The Wrangleboro Road entrance road to the mall would be extended into the proposed office park, as well as the construction of several new roads and parking lots on the site. The inside of the track oval would be renovated to include a lake and community greenspace. The project would be a spin-off of the NextGen research park currently under construction at the Atlantic City International Airport
.
In 2011, the Atlantic City Race Course was a recipient of $1 million for capital improvements from the Casino Simulcast Fund, a fund designed to offset the loss of simulcast business at racetracks.
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse race track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
located in the Mays Landing
Mays Landing, New Jersey
Mays Landing is a census-designated place located within Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 2,321. It is the county seat of Atlantic County...
section of Hamilton Township
Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey
Hamilton Township is a township in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 26,503...
, in Atlantic County
Atlantic County, New Jersey
-National protected areas:* Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge * Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River -Demographics:...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The track is located off the Black Horse Pike (U.S. Route 322
U.S. Route 322
U.S. Route 322 is a long, east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 22 and one of the original highways from 1926...
) next to the Hamilton Mall
Hamilton Mall
The Hamilton Mall is a major shopping destination in Mays Landing, in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 1987, the two-story enclosed mall is anchored by J.C. Penney, Macy's and Sears .The mall is adjacent to the Black Horse Pike and U.S...
. Despite the name, the facility is located 14 miles (22.5 km) from Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
.
The main track is 1⅛ miles in length and 100 feet (30.5 m) wide, with a 7 furlong chute. The stretch portion of the main track is 947.29 feet (288.7 m). The turf course is a 100 feet (30.5 m) wide, one mile (1.6 km) oval. The stands offer a seating capacity of 10,000, with standing room available for 25,000. In all, ACRC covers over 250 acres (1 km²) of land.
2011 Race Schedule
In 2011, live racing will take place April 28, 29, and 30, and May 1, 2, and 3.History
ACRC opened on July 22, 1946, as the Atlantic City Race Track, the work of a group of four individuals. The most famous of the group was John B. Kelly, Sr.John B. Kelly, Sr.
John Brendan Kelly, Sr., also known as Jack Kelly, was one of the most accomplished American oarsmen in the history of the sport of rowing. He was a triple Olympic Gold Medal winner, the first to do so in the sport of rowing. He won 126 straight races in the single scull...
, who created the race course together with Fred C. Scholler, Glendon Robertson and James "Sonny" Fraser. Shareholders included show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
personalities Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Harry James
Harry James
Henry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...
, Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye , born Samuel Zarnocay, Jr., was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era.-Biography:...
and Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat was a Spanish-American bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a key personality in the spread of Latin music in United States popular music. He was also a cartoonist and a successful businessman...
.
Kelso
Kelso (horse)
Kelso was an American thoroughbred race horse considered among the best racehorses of the 20th century. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by The Blood-Horse magazine Kelso ranks 4th, behind only Man o' War , Secretariat and Citation...
, considered to be among the best racehorses of the twentieth century, made his two-year-old debut on September 4, 1959 at ACRC, at that time one of the country's premier tracks.
On August 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 1969 an estimated 100,000 people attended the Atlantic City Pop Festival
Atlantic City Pop Festival
The Atlantic City Pop Festival took place in 1969 on August 1, 2 and 3rd at the Atlantic City race track, two weeks before the better known Woodstock Festival...
at the race course. The overwhelming turn out was an unexpected and controversial state of affairs, as local government agencies and police departments strained to respond to the harbinger of the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in upstate New York just a few weeks later. Roads approaching the race course were clogged with young people who spontaneously arrived to attend, forming an ad-hoc hippy hollow in the surrounding forest areas in the vicinity.
In the late 1970s, the opening of casinos in Atlantic City had an impact on track attendance as did later competition for quality horses from racino-type venues in regional states. Over time, ACRC could not operate profitably as attendance and handle dropped off year by year. Track owner Bob Levy announced the facility would hold a final abbreviated race meet in 1998, then close, presumably at the end of that year. The track remains open, however, operating short, fair-like meets in order to retain its simulcast permit. In 2001, the track was sold to the owners of Philadelphia Park Racetrack
Philadelphia Park Racetrack
Parx Racing and Casino is a thoroughbred horse racetrack and racino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. It currently houses 3,300 slot machines.-History:...
and is now primarily a simulcast facility. From 1998 to the present, ACRC conducted live race meets of between four and 10 days per year.
On November 16, 2006 Hal Handel, CEO of Greenwood Racing, announced that ACRC would increase live racing dates from 4 days per year to up to 20 days per year. In 2008, racing took place on six days; April 23, 24, 25, 30, May 1, and 2. The New Jersey Racing Commission ordered the track to offer 20 days of racing in 2009, but reduced the mandate to six when the track agreed to forego its pursuit of purse subsidy monies from an agreement between the New Jersey horse racing industry and the Atlantic City casinos.
Future developments
In 2010, plans were revealed to redevelop a majority of the race course property and redevelop the race track. Plans call for the renovation of the grandstand and construction of an adjacent 20-story hotel and conference center, along with an office and research park occupied by NextGen AviationsNext Generation Air Transportation System
The Next Generation Air Transportation System is the name given to a new National Airspace System due for implementation across the United States in stages between 2012 and 2025. The...
. The office park, which would be called the "NextGen International Aviation Center for Excellence" would contain six office buildings totaling between 400,000 and 600000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) on the site of the parking lot, corporate and academic housing on the current site of the stables (which would be moved), as well as a transit center, which would replace the current "Convenience center" in the Hamilton Mall parking lot. The Wrangleboro Road entrance road to the mall would be extended into the proposed office park, as well as the construction of several new roads and parking lots on the site. The inside of the track oval would be renovated to include a lake and community greenspace. The project would be a spin-off of the NextGen research park currently under construction at the Atlantic City International Airport
Atlantic City International Airport
Atlantic City International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located nine nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Atlantic City, in Atlantic County, New Jersey...
.
In 2011, the Atlantic City Race Course was a recipient of $1 million for capital improvements from the Casino Simulcast Fund, a fund designed to offset the loss of simulcast business at racetracks.