The Bowie Race Track was a horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 track located just outside the city limits of Bowie, Maryland

Bowie, Maryland

Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the state of...

. Opened October 1, 1914 by the Southern Maryland Agricultural Society, the racetrack was a major attraction in the area, serving the now defunct WB&A Railroad

Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway

The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway , now defunct, was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, DC built in the 19th and 20th century. The WB&A absorbed two older railroads, the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad and the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line, and...

 that drew passengers from New York, Philadelphia and points along the way.

The track was a natural addition to the area, home to the Belair Stud

Belair Stud

Belair Stud was an American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm founded by Provincial Governor of Maryland, Samuel Ogle in 1747 in Collington, Prince Georges County, Maryland in Colonial America.-Colonial Period:...

 Farm, founded by Samuel Ogle

Samuel Ogle

Samuel Ogle was the 16th, 18th and 20th Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1731 to 1732, 1733 to 1742, and 1746/1747 to 1752.-Background:...

 and credited as the "Cradle of American thoroughbred racing."

In the 1950s, Bowie Race Track was a pioneer of winter racing in the Northeastern United States

Northeastern United States

The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...

. Some of the races inaugurated at the Bowie track include:

• Native Dancer Stakes
  Native Dancer Stakes
  The Native Dancer Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Raced in early January, it is open to horses age three and older and is contested on dirt over a distance of 1 mile ....
  
  
• Barbara Fritchie Handicap
  Barbara Fritchie Handicap
  The Barbara Fritchie Handicap is an American race for Thoroughbred horses run at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland each year. A Grade II, this race is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and offers a purse of $300,000.The race is run in...
  
  
• Endurance Handicap
  Endurance Gold Cup Stakes
  The Endurance Gold Cup Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the latter part of November at Bowie Race Track in Bowie, Maryland...
  
  

During the night of January 31, 1966 a fire burned down five barns at the track that took the lives of at least 43 horses.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/949611042.html?dids=949611042:949611042&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Feb+01%2C+1966&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=43+Horses+Perish+in+Blaze+at+Bowie%3B+%24200%2C000+Loss+Adds+to+Track's+Woes&pqatl=google

Competition from new racing operations such as Keystone 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:...

 in Bensalem, Pennsylvania ultimately led to the demise of the Bowie Race Track which ceased racing operations on July 14, 1985. The track now serves as a training center for Thoroughbred

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...

 racehorses. The track and training facility is now owned by MI Developments Inc. (MID).

External links

• Article about winter racing at Bowie Racetrack and the "Bowie Breed"