Sulky Racing in My Own Backyard

In the category of "who new?" comes news from our very local newspaper (sorry no link--it is very local!) that the Philadelphia suburbs were once home to a sulky race track known as Belmont Driving Park. Built during the Centennial Exposition in 1878 (held in Philadelphia), the park was located in the Philadelphia suburbs in what is now known as Merion.

The Club included two tracks, one inside the other. The outer one was a one mile oval; the inner one was half a mile. Membership reached 300 at the height of the Club's popularity! There was also an elaborate Clubhouse, featuring a covered veranda with reserved seating for the most elite members. There was also a judges stand as well as a grandstand.

Among the star horses at this facility were Star Pointer, Jay Eye See and May Queen. The most prestigious event held at the Park was the Grand Circuit of 1917, a race as prominent then as the Kentucky Derby is now. Horses traveled, by train, from New Hampshire, Kentucky, Ohio and Massachusetts. Visitors to the track also made the trip by train from downtown Philadelphia. It was the place to see and be seen, according to the history of the Main Line.

The track remained popular for 50 years, fading with the dawn of the automobile age. In the last years of its existence, harness racing gave way to automobile races but in the end, the track did not have enough supporters to remain in existence. The property was sold off to a developer who developed the land for single family homes. The original stockholders of the Belmont Driving Club got a 200 percent profit on their investment--not bad!

Those homes still stand in what has come to be known as Merion Park and not even the street names give a hint of the area's colorful past