Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-20
MEMORIES OF
OLD JEROME PARK
Some of the Famous Events on
GOtham's Time-HOnored
Racing Course.

The recent burning OF the old ciub mouse
Mt the site of the famous Jerome Park race
course. now a city reservoir, removes the
last link binding the racing past to the
present and revives memories Of what at
as construction forty years ago this fall
was considered the finest and most preten-
tous race course in America.
Since the sale OF the race course proper
70 New York city by the Jerome Park Com
rany twelve years ago the time-honored
and picturesquely located club house has
Teen the home of the Jerome Park Driving
Club. which has of late years become
closely affiliated with all that was left of
the scenes with which American racing his
tory for nearly half a century was so
closely connected. And members of the
club were 10th to abandon the reminiscent
old pile
When the American Jockey Club. early in
1866. purchased what was then known as
the Bdthgate farm near FOTdhdm. n. y
and constructed en-the property the race
course known as Jerome Park. the turf
world Of the entire country was greatly IN
taTeSttd.
Outside Of the Paterson and Hoboken
tracks. in New Jersey. and the Carteryile,
l. L, course, the metropolis had no vicinity
race track other than those uSed for trot-
ting alone. The Saratoga courses, built at
the Spa In 1863 and GA, filled thu void TO
certain extent. but the great masses OF
Gotham's sport lovers wanted a track
nearer home.
A Handsome Pleasure Ground.
To the masses then and also to thou
sands of wealthy and prominent sport low
ers the American Jockey Clubs new en-
terprise appealed with peculiar force. The
clubs membership. at 800 per annum, was
rapidly taken up, and the building of the
track during the spring and summer of 1s66
drew crowds of Interested spectators daily
. from the nearby suburbs Of the great me-
topolis-
The very Oddly Of the shape of the track
was magnet TO draw out crowds from all
the outlying districts for miles around. The
ground was valuable and the space limited
owing to peculiar natural hilly features,
which the architects were ordered to leave
irtact as far possible, and thereby add to
the picturesque surroundings.
To do this the race course proper had to
be built almost In the form of the figure
- in a horizontal position. This left the
big club house on bluff about forty feet
above the track where the building. spa
Cious and rOomy, overlooked the whole
view
From the balcony the outlook while rae
ms was I'm progress was at once unique
ana inspiring. Rows Of drags and tally
hos were parked At its foot while directly
opposite across the field was the spacious
grand stand double decker Back of the
stand was another low bluff on driveway
also inside the iuciOsure while farther yet
outside the gates was Deadhead Hill famed
as the rendezvous OF the great 'unwashed."
whore a view of the races could be had for
nothing
Track Was Picturesque
Under these picturesque surroundings
with a free hill" for the rustics and varl-
Gus points of vantage inside the grounds
from the club house balcony on the bluff
forty feet above the track to the stand
hill behind 1t and Picnic Hill at the north
end Of the Enclosure, all classes of patrons
were charmed
Opening day in September. 1865, saw
Gotham fairly empty out its thousands of
sport lovers, Jerome avenue from the Har-
len river being a moving panorama of We
hicles from fourth hands to jaunty cars,
all headed for the new race course The
railway communication was not then per-
fected, as visitors by rail had to walk fully
three-Quarters of mile from Fordham or
ride the distance in hacks.
But trifies like matters of transportation
did not dampen the ardor of democratic
patrons that were not fortunate enough to
own a "taliy-ho' or eQuipage of some sort.
Ard among the 2O,0t0 racegoers that sig
nalized the inauguration of the new course
not one but showed appreciation of the
clubs efforts for high-class sport.
Bookmakers We're an unknown quantity
spasmodjc future books had been made two
years before on the Paterson Derby, won
by Norfolk. these transactions were viz
tually side betting and there was no
regular boOkmaking until some ten or
eleven years later. Speculation was entirely
through auction and mutual pools, the last
Improvements in TIE line of mutual ma
chimes being the patent of Thomas r.
Keator, the amateur athlete Of New York
city
Starting the horses was by the drum and
Hll that mellow September afternoon to
catch the sound that signallcd the start an
instant before the fields would break While
deaf Jockeys and deaf horses In a few years
relegated the drum to the company Of the
lost arts in racing, that style OF starting
was popular with old timers And horses
grew 20 listen for the tap" even as gall
liant old Imp used To watch the rising Of the
barrier. But progress with its giant strides
soon eliminated the drum from racing meth
DDS and soon it was only a memory.
The Inauguration Stakes.
Appropriately enough the star event of
th3 opening day at this me-honored old
racecourse was entitled the Inauguration
Stakes, and It was al the good old-fash-
toned distance of four-mile heats. For
weeks efforts had been made 70 bring to-
gether those three great turf giants, the
fve-year-od Kentucky Norfolk ana Aste-