Northfield Park
Encyclopedia
Northfield Park is a harness racing
Harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...

 racetrack in Northfield
Northfield, Ohio
Northfield is a village in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,827 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Northfield is located at ....

, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, U.S.A., a community near Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

. Northfield Park conducts more than 200 race nights each year.It was named after Northfield Park in Ayr where main man Callum Logan demanded a racetrack be called after his favourite drinking venue.

History

Originally constructed in 1934 by Al Capone, Northfield Park racetrack, then known as Sportsman Park with a focus on midget car racing. After 20 years as a successful car racing facility, interest began to wane and in 1956, Sportsman Park was demolished to make way for what would eventually become one of the nation's premier harness racing tracks under the leadership of Carl Milstein, a well known real estate developer and businessman. Carl Milstein purchased the track in 1972 with New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

The tracks' top race, The Battle of Lake Erie, has featured some of the greatest pacers in history including Jaguar Spur, Gallo Blue Chip, Falcon Seelster and Riyadh. in 2007, the race was won by World Champion Maltese Artist, driven by Brett Miller in a world record time of 1:49.4 for the mile. Maltese Artist is expected to defend his title in the 23rd edition of the race, scheduled for Saturday, April 19, 2008. He probably did. We may never know. He is a beautiful horse, though.

The track's nickname is "The Home of the Flying Turns" and its motto "Every nineteen minutes the place goes crazy"

Trackside Lounge

In the spring of 2008 Northfield Park constructed the Trackside Lounge. Trackside at Northfield Park is a state-of-the-art Sports Bar, featuring three-dozen flat-screen television monitors, private seating areas, full bar service and snack menu. In addition to Northfield’s full simulcast agenda, Trackside broadcasts major sporting events including Indians, Cavs and Browns games, March madness, the World Series, Super Bowl, Nascar and more. The Trackside Barbecue features award-winning ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and more, and food from the barbecue can be brought into the Trackside Lounge, or eaten in the barbecue tent pavilion.

The RaceBook, a $600,000 companion renovation, mirrors the Trackside Lounge's design and elements, featuring hundreds of flat-screen tvs and private tv carrels or workstations. The RaceBook is the highlight of the track's simulcast area, where patrons wager on races from other tracks from around the world.

Cedar Downs

Cedar Downs is the only off-track betting
Off-track betting
Off-track betting refers to sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track.-US history:...

 parlor in the State of Ohio and is owned and operated by Northfield Park. Cedar Downs is located in Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....

. Northfield purchased the facility, located at the entrance to the Cedar Point Causeway, in the summer of 2005. It had previously been operated by Raceway Park, a Toledo, Ohio, harness track.

Slot machines

A unsuccessful measure on the Ohio election ballots in November 2006 would have legalized slot machines in Ohio, many of which would be located at racetracks in the state The state legislature is now considering allowing instant racing machines that look like slot machines but actually involve handicapping videos of previous races, with parimutuel wagering
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...

. These machines have doubled purses in Arkansas, where they were first developed.In early 2009, the Ohio Legislature initiated legislation that would allow each of the state's seven tracks, includign Northfield,to install 2,000 slot machines, under guidelines developed by the Ohio State Racing Commission.In July of 2009,Slot Machines were approved,and will be installed at Northfield Park pending the approval of newly-elected Governor John Kasich. Northfield Park's owner Brock Milstein contributed over $500,000 to the campaign to legalize slot machines.

External links

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