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jjpjji jf Belmont Truly Track of Distinction Held to Be Most Beautiful And Best Appointed in U.S. Westchester Course Built i To Endure; To Have Golden Jubilee, of Operation in 55 By EVAN SHIPMAN BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., NY., June 11. Acknowledged to be the most beautiful as well as the best appointed of American racetracks, Belmont Park will have been in operation next year for a full half century. Refuting the general conception that the passage time necessarily implies progress, this stately and gracious monument to tradition is a reminder that in many things, notably the ammenities of living, we do less well than our fathers did. Belmont was built to endure, its ample architecture and generous planting com-. bining charm with majesty. The builders of this noble structure, and those who designed the enchanting vistas, responsive to every subtle change of the seasons, were highly conscious of the dignity of formal living; of the setting merited by an ancient sport, and today Belmont stands here superbly indifferent to modernity, confident that a new era may imitate, but never surpass it. Because of the restless expansion of our cities, the life-span of our racetracks is likely to be short. At the date of construction, apparently secure in remote suberbs, track after track has fallen victim to urban encroachment. The history of the American turf is replete with the names of long-vanished associations, how only the dimmest of memories, but once the gathering places of fashion, and the background for competition of our greatest thoroughbreds. Luxury Tracks After War New York City and its immediate vicinity is rich in nostalgic recollections of once famous courses. Previous to the Civil War that broad and distinct line of demarcation between ancient and modern local race tracks may have been thronged with an eager public, but those tracks were invariably rough and uncouth in comparison with the elaborate, luxurious tracks that succeeded one another at about quarter of a century intervals after the close of hostilities, and of which Belmont was to be the latest and finest example. In succession, Jerome Park, Morris Park and finally, "Beautiful Belmont," each was the sensation of its day, but where the first two tracks survive only as the subject of antiquarian footnotes, Belmont continues, as it was a half century ago for the inaugural meeting. Americas model track, and one of which the sport may well be proud. - Located on the old Bathgate estate, Jerome Park, named in honor of Winston Churchills American grandfather, was located in Fordham, while Morris Park, its successor, was not far distant in the Bronx. The line of heritage .from those two old tracks to Belmont Park is clear. The same family names being prominent among the founders of each. The change in location from what was then Westchester County to Long Island was in accord with a shift of fashion, the condemnation of Morris Park by the city and the breaking ground for the new Belmont Park taking place around the turn tf the century when Long Island was fast surplanting the lower Hudson as a locale for pretentious country estates. Take Lease on Morris Park Major August Belmont, James R. Keene and F. K. Sturgis, officers of the newly organized Westchester Racing Association, took a lease on the Morris Park property in 1895, conducing a meeting there that fall. But they had already felt the threat of the expanding city and were quite aware that their tenancy of the Bronx course could not be of long duration. After thorough search and involved negotiation, the property now known as Belmont was purchased in 1004 at Queens, Long Island, and a mammouth new plant was laid out. The late Walter S. Vosburgh, secretary and handicapper for The Jockey Club and the great historian of the "middle period", of Ameri-an racing, says of Belmont Park: "It was by far the most extensive racing property that had been opened, covering G50 acres with a race course, an oval circuit of a mile and a half, a straight course of seven furlongs, and a training track of a mile circuit. Following English precedent, the races were run the reverse way, that is with the inside rail on the right hand instead of on the 1eit hand, as all other American race courses were built. "The grandstand was an enormous structure, 6G0 feet in length, with a capacity for seating 9,000 persons, with the unusual feature of the roof being made available for spectators, a feature common in England but hitcrto deemed undesirable in America owing to its entailing exposure to the sun. The clu-hcuse, a substantial structure, afforded a fine view of the racing, and was furnished with dining rooms, bedrooms and balconies, and was connected to the grandstand by a bridge. "The Saddling paddock was the most beautiful seen anywhere in this country. Stately oak, beech and chestnut trees shaded the grounc? where the horses were put through their toilets, and where the ladies ?lnd gentlemen could roam about and inspect the candidates for the great events. Beyond the paddock was the quarters of the Turf and Field Club, with its quaint but beautiful old mansion of the Menice family, embowered in woods and shrubery, rendering it an abode fit for Juno and her peacocks, as an enthusiastic lover of nature described it." Opened on May 4, 1905 Belmont Park flung open its gates to the public for the first time on May 4, 1905, with the Metropolitan Handicap, transplanted from Jerome and Morris Parks as feature race of the inaugural programs. It was a thoroughly auspicious occasion, that Metropolitan more than satis-, fying the crowd when the great Sysonby ran a thrilling dead heat with the lightly weighted gelding, Raceland. The sumptious new track continued to enjoy great popular favor until the passage of the Hart-Agnew bill and the suspension of the sport in 1911-12, this adverse legislation causing tracks to close, not only in the New York area, but all over the country. Even during that period of blight, racing did continue on Belmont property, however. Beyond the Hempstead Turnpike, 200 of Belmonts 650 acres were known as the United Hunts grounds. There was a course for steeplechase and hurdle horses there, as well as a grass course on the flat, all quite distinct from the main track. On this smaller division of the main property, Belmont and the United Hunts gave meetings that kept the sport alive in this vicinity, earning the gratitude of all American sportsmen by fidelity to traditions that had been flouted in Albany. Racing Revived in 1913 Thanks to ja technicality concerning "oral betting established at these United Hunts meetings, racing was revived at Belmont proper and elsewhere in New York State in 1913. When the horses appeared on the trackfor the first race of the day, the crowd broke forth in cheers. The band played "Auld Lang Syne," the crowd joining in with the singing. It was an auspicious occasion, because from then on, the " BELMONT PARK SCENES Picturesque lake above and celebrated Man o War statue below. sport continued uninterrupted at Belmont with an ever-increasing popular appeal. Although Major August Belmont retained the title of president of the Westchester Racing Association until his death in 1924, the founder was no longer active in the associations affairs at the time of renovation and added building that occurred in 20, this considerable work achieved under the direction of Harry Payne Whitney and Joseph E. Widener, the latter to succeed Major Belmont in the presidency, and, during his tenure, to stamp the grounds with his personality and taste to almost the same degree as had its founder. Because of long association with "the French turf, Joseph R. Widener retained vivid memories of the beauties of Long-champ in the Bois de Boulogne, and he instituted the- extensive planting at Belmont Park that now makes the Long Island course a worthy rival to the great Parisian track. Lovely borders change with the seasons, the flowers supplied from the associations two hot-houses back in the stable area. Hedges are clipped and vast spaces of lawn are immaculate, while the shade trees, na--tive and exotic, are pruned and tended with the greatest care, all this under the expert direction of track superintendent Cornelius , Horses running over Belmont Park course, with the Jiuge stand in the background. m . ocVi.Vtf ne IWriAcO ! -c has sbniiu: no?.rrr.GO isqqsr.S ?9ov j .omnmn voxoiZ Boyle, whose skill is not limited to furnishing ideal footing for the horses. Widener found Belmont a great track, but-when, because of ill health, he was forced to retire in 38, he left it to his successor, Alfred G. Vanderbilt, a lovely garden as well. Vanderbilt, in turn, has been succeeded by George D. Widener, nephew of the second president, but under all regimes, earlier traditions have been upheld. Truly, in Vosburghs words, Belmont is a "revelation, and the most magnificent racing property in America." That tribute is as fitting today as when penned a quarter of a century ago.
