Historic Track

Infobox nrhp
name = Historic Track
nrhp_type = nhl


caption = A trotter working out on the track
location = Goshen, NY
nearest_city = Middletown
lat_degrees = 41 | lat_minutes = 24 | lat_seconds = 08 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 74 | long_minutes = 19 | long_seconds = 10 | long_direction = W
area =
built = 1838
architect =
architecture =
designated = May 23, 1966cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=403&ResourceType=District
title=Historic Track|date=2007-09-14|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = October 15, 1966cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 66000560
mpsub =
governing_body = Goshen Historic Track, Inc.

The Historic Track is a half-mile (900 m) harness racing track in Goshen, New York. It was opened in 1838 and has been in operation ever since, the oldest continuously operated horse racing track in North America.PDFlink| [http://www.ustrotting.com/trackside/trackfacts/pdf/goshen_historic.pdf Goshen Historic Track] |20.3 KB, retrieved from ustrotting.com July 23, 2007.] .

Informal horse races had been held along neighboring Main Street (now part of NY 207) since the 1750s. The current track site was first used in 1838 when a ⅓-mile (530 m) circle around a circus ground near the south end of the track was cleared and prepared for regular racing. Later it would be succeeded by an oval track perpendicular to the current one, then a long square track around the whole site, until the current track was built in 1873.Interpretive panel near track entrance, visited July 25, 2007.]

Today the track operates a limited but intense season for one week every summer, between June 30 and July 4. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places later in the same year, when the National Register was created.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000560.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Historic Track] |250 KB|author=Richard Greenwood |date=December 9, 1975|publisher=National Park Service]

It is a contributing property to the Church Park Historic District. The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame (run by a separate organization) is located nearby.

References