September 4, 2025 • 11 mins
On this week's Harness Racing Alumni Show, we honor what would have been Roosevelt Raceway's 85th anniversary. Freddie shares some of the track's great history. He talks about how the track came to be, the growth of half mile oval, the famous celebrities and the three American Presidents that attended the track..!! Freddie then gives his candid opinion for the Raceway's eventual decline. He also shares a special Lucien Fontaine story. All on this week's Harness Racing Alumni Show broadcast.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to this week's Harness Racing Alumni Show. The Harness
Racing Alumni Show with your hosts Freddy Hudson and Trade Martin,
brought to you by the Meadowlands Racetrack and Hunterton Farms.
Visit www dot Faymeeatlands dot com. Hunterton Farms will be
(00:22):
selling their consignment at the Lexington Selected Sale September twenty
ninth through October third. Hunterton Farms w W Hunterton Farms
dot com. I'm Freddie Hudson and I'm here today with
Trade Martin and Bob Marx. On today's show, I'm going
to a guest give a history lesson about Roosevelt Raceway.
(00:44):
This year on September two would mark the eighty fifth
anniversary of Roosevelt Raceway at its stayed open. Roosevelt Raceway
was founded by George Morton and book George Morton Levy
and Bob Johnson. Levy and Johnson in nineteen twenty nine
had started the greyhound racing at the Mineola Fairgrounds, which
(01:06):
also conducted harness racing. That is how they got acquainted
with harness racing. Watching the race over at Mineola Fairgrounds.
They had a form of bedd in there on the Greyhounds,
and they were under constant threat of being closed down.
In nineteen thirty six, Roosevelt Raceway opened as an auto
(01:30):
track for the reissues of the Vanderbilt Cup. The land
that they acquired by lease was the Unit two of
the Roosevelt Roosevelt Field Airport. That's the site of the
runway from which Charles Lindbergh took off in the spirit
(01:52):
of Saint Louis. The races were controlled for excuse me.
The races were conducted for nineteen thirty six and nineteen
thirty seven, and the Indian car races ended due to
the World War Two, the European drivers were unable to attend.
In nineteen thirty eight, George Morton Levy was working with
(02:16):
the Throwbrets, politicians and some organized crime figures to get
Paramutral race and legalized in the state of New York.
And in nineteen thirty eight Ian Johnson closed the dog
track and they leaseds About Raceway. They made a half
mile track dirt oval, they put lightened in, they added
(02:37):
Betton windows, and they had midgit car races there for
their nineteen thirty eight and nineteen thirty eight seasons with
the same type of bendan that they had used on
the dogs. In late nineteen thirty nine, the paramutral bill
in New York was passed, and in late nineteen thirty
nine the Old Country I've Tried Association formed. In early
(03:01):
nineteen forty the New York Race Commission was spooned and
the Old Country Tried In Association did some improvements to
Roosevelt Raceway, and on September two, Roosevelt Raceway conducted its
first race ever. A crowded about five thousand to forty
thousand doll showed up. Introduced that first meet was single
(03:24):
heat racing program program with past lines and racing at ninth.
The track had racing through World War Two, with the
exception of nineteen forty three where the rason was canceled.
One of the difficulties in hardened racing at that time
was the multiple recalls. On May twenty fourth, nineteen forty six,
(03:49):
Leady at Roosevelt Raceway solved that problem with the introduction
of the Global Starting Game. It revolutionized harness racing to
the tracks success from nineteen forty six to nineteen fifty six,
where the average attendance grew from in nineteen forty six
(04:10):
of nine thousand, six hundred for ninth to nineteen fifty six,
where the nightly average was nineteen thousand per night. In
nineteen fifty seven, the New York Track opened or the
New Track opened and the nightly Attendant sword with the
average attendance from nineteen fifty seven to nineteen seventy one
(04:33):
was over twenty thousand per night. During his heyday, the
track featured situations as the Messenger Pace, the American Trident Championship,
the Roosevelt Fraturity, and the Biggest One, the Roosevelt Raceway International,
with the Challenge Cup follow following the next week. The
popularity of Roosevelt Raceway started to decline in the early
(04:57):
nineteen seventies due to many reasons. Some of them are
the lottery, the Meadowlands opening in nineteen seventy six, competition
with the NETS Islanders and NETS cable TV being introduced,
Atlantic City opening, scandals of race fixing, the death of
(05:18):
George Martin Levy, and the Big One, a drop in
the paid revenue to the state. The payout to the
state dropped from thirty one million in nineteen seventy six
to four and a half million in nineteen eighty six.
The track conducted its last race on June fifteenth, nineteen
eighty eight. During its time, there was no track like it.
(05:43):
The track was so ahead of its time. Fantascope they
invented in nineteen fifty five. You're going to ask what
is fantascope. It was a closed circuit TV that projected
races on a twenty foot screen that was placed next
to the October for so fans could actually watch the
races on a big screen. That They were the first
(06:05):
sport to do a live telecast. They conducted computerized dating
games at the track. Then the races were night We
televised on several of the networks, the International. This sort
about that for a second. It was a three week
event that would start with the American Tronent Championship, then
(06:25):
the International trot and then it would finish with the
Challenge Cup. The track for the Celebrity Magnet. You had
baseball players, basketball players, football players, boggy players from the Jets, Nets, Yankees, Giants,
s Nylanders, Knicks and the Nets. Celebrities, movie stars, singing stars, boxers,
(06:47):
you name it. They were there. An episode of the
I Love Lucy TV show was filmed that Roosevelt Race was.
Here's a list of some of the celebrities that includes
Owan Martin of laugh At. Jules Linger not only a
New York Ranger, but it was also a harness driver
that raced at Roosevelt. Charlie Keller from the Yankees, Lou
(07:09):
Kennert from the Yankees, Boxer Jack Dempsey, James Cagney, Nicky Mantle,
Whitey Ford, Ed Sullivan, George Steinberger, Milton Burrell, Bob Hope,
Nicky Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, Tina Louise. Tina Louise actually did
a goat presentation, Kelly Savalas, Joey Jones, Sugar Ray Sugar Ray, Robinson,
(07:33):
cav Cowaway, George Foreman, Joe Cucko of the Jets, Jerry Kouzman,
Ed trainfle Ron Seboda of the Nets, Joe Namath, Jejacaboor,
Walt Michael's head coach of the New York Jets, Joey Heatherton,
who had had a party one time I was had
the pleaser of driving her home to her an apartment.
(07:54):
And there are men others. Now, we also had presidents
that had visited Roosevelt Raceway, had Lynda V. Johnson, John Kennedy,
and Ronald Reagan. Now Johnson visited Roosevelt Raceway twice. Once
as vice president we have a picture of him cut
in the harness writer's cap, and the other time as
(08:16):
President of the United States. The time that he visited
as President of the United States, they had two races.
They had a Democrat race and a Republican race. Were
found presentations from each party for the winner of that
race afterwards. Some of are sports greatest drivers called Roosevelt
Home Way. Too many to mention, but here's some. Gwyn Hodgens,
(08:39):
Henry and Dick Thomas, Wayne Smart, Joe O'Brien, Johnsson Senior,
new Bell, Billy Hudson, Stanley, Harold burning Sonny and Donald Dancer,
Billy and Peter Houghton, George Fallon, George Cholpy, Buddy Gilmore, Dowansville,
John Chapman, Kid might have a Toe, Herb and Henry
(09:00):
thilly On, Lucian Fontaine, Bennie Webster, Butch Dokey, Norman de Plays,
Bill and Frank Popfinger, Teddy Wing, Bill O'donald, Eddie Lomyer,
Jimmy Maroone, Michael Chance, Stunny, Patterson, Leo Bauer, Joe Marsh,
John Campbell, Kat Manley, and many many others. Here's a
(09:22):
couple of short stories. This one is kind of funny.
Trainer Buck Norris is sleep and we always everyone used
to take after manon naps back then, and he gets
a phone call and the person asks him found how's
Becky beck He responds to, very well, you know, she
was a little lazy this morning, so I gave her
(09:44):
a couple of shots with the whip and that's straightened
her right out, holding silence. On the other end of
the phone, it was his daughter's school calling to see
how Becky, his daughter was doing, because she was home
sick that day. Buck had a horse named Betty Bell,
and he thought it was one that the owners calling
(10:04):
to see how the horse was doing. Another good story,
Jimmy Cruz had a goat that got loose and caused
an accident on old Country road. The incident made the papers,
so if Jimmy was worried that they'd be looking for
the owner of the goat, so he hid the goat
out for two weeks that my dad's barn and nothing
ever occurred of that. But that was kind of comical.
(10:26):
And then here's a statement that Lucian Fontaine made. It
was a fantastic feeling raising at Roosevelt Racewife. It was intimidating.
After being there, you felt like you were part of history.
It was a fantastic place. The lights and the noise
(10:47):
of the crowd. Everyone in New York knew me. I
would walk down the streets and person after person would
stop and ask for my autograph. It was just a
great experience, the greatest ever. Everyone in harness racing wanted
to race at Roosevelt Raceway. It was the major league
(11:08):
of horness racing, said Lucian Fontaine. With that, I'm going
to close the show out. I hope that you enjoyed
our Roosevelt Raceway history lesson. Thanks to the Netherlands and
Hunterington Farms for being our sponsors. That's a wrap for
this week's show. Thanks for listening and please join us
again next week and also check us out on YouTube
(11:31):
and Facebook. Thank you very much. The Harness Racing Alumni
Show
Welcome to this week's Harness Racing Alumni Show. The Harness
Racing Alumni Show with your hosts Freddy Hudson and Trade Martin,
brought to you by the Meadowlands Racetrack and Hunterton Farms.
Visit www dot Faymeeatlands dot com. Hunterton Farms will be
(00:22):
selling their consignment at the Lexington Selected Sale September twenty
ninth through October third. Hunterton Farms w W Hunterton Farms
dot com. I'm Freddie Hudson and I'm here today with
Trade Martin and Bob Marx. On today's show, I'm going
to a guest give a history lesson about Roosevelt Raceway.
(00:44):
This year on September two would mark the eighty fifth
anniversary of Roosevelt Raceway at its stayed open. Roosevelt Raceway
was founded by George Morton and book George Morton Levy
and Bob Johnson. Levy and Johnson in nineteen twenty nine
had started the greyhound racing at the Mineola Fairgrounds, which
(01:06):
also conducted harness racing. That is how they got acquainted
with harness racing. Watching the race over at Mineola Fairgrounds.
They had a form of bedd in there on the Greyhounds,
and they were under constant threat of being closed down.
In nineteen thirty six, Roosevelt Raceway opened as an auto
(01:30):
track for the reissues of the Vanderbilt Cup. The land
that they acquired by lease was the Unit two of
the Roosevelt Roosevelt Field Airport. That's the site of the
runway from which Charles Lindbergh took off in the spirit
(01:52):
of Saint Louis. The races were controlled for excuse me.
The races were conducted for nineteen thirty six and nineteen
thirty seven, and the Indian car races ended due to
the World War Two, the European drivers were unable to attend.
In nineteen thirty eight, George Morton Levy was working with
(02:16):
the Throwbrets, politicians and some organized crime figures to get
Paramutral race and legalized in the state of New York.
And in nineteen thirty eight Ian Johnson closed the dog
track and they leaseds About Raceway. They made a half
mile track dirt oval, they put lightened in, they added
(02:37):
Betton windows, and they had midgit car races there for
their nineteen thirty eight and nineteen thirty eight seasons with
the same type of bendan that they had used on
the dogs. In late nineteen thirty nine, the paramutral bill
in New York was passed, and in late nineteen thirty
nine the Old Country I've Tried Association formed. In early
(03:01):
nineteen forty the New York Race Commission was spooned and
the Old Country Tried In Association did some improvements to
Roosevelt Raceway, and on September two, Roosevelt Raceway conducted its
first race ever. A crowded about five thousand to forty
thousand doll showed up. Introduced that first meet was single
(03:24):
heat racing program program with past lines and racing at ninth.
The track had racing through World War Two, with the
exception of nineteen forty three where the rason was canceled.
One of the difficulties in hardened racing at that time
was the multiple recalls. On May twenty fourth, nineteen forty six,
(03:49):
Leady at Roosevelt Raceway solved that problem with the introduction
of the Global Starting Game. It revolutionized harness racing to
the tracks success from nineteen forty six to nineteen fifty six,
where the average attendance grew from in nineteen forty six
(04:10):
of nine thousand, six hundred for ninth to nineteen fifty six,
where the nightly average was nineteen thousand per night. In
nineteen fifty seven, the New York Track opened or the
New Track opened and the nightly Attendant sword with the
average attendance from nineteen fifty seven to nineteen seventy one
(04:33):
was over twenty thousand per night. During his heyday, the
track featured situations as the Messenger Pace, the American Trident Championship,
the Roosevelt Fraturity, and the Biggest One, the Roosevelt Raceway International,
with the Challenge Cup follow following the next week. The
popularity of Roosevelt Raceway started to decline in the early
(04:57):
nineteen seventies due to many reasons. Some of them are
the lottery, the Meadowlands opening in nineteen seventy six, competition
with the NETS Islanders and NETS cable TV being introduced,
Atlantic City opening, scandals of race fixing, the death of
(05:18):
George Martin Levy, and the Big One, a drop in
the paid revenue to the state. The payout to the
state dropped from thirty one million in nineteen seventy six
to four and a half million in nineteen eighty six.
The track conducted its last race on June fifteenth, nineteen
eighty eight. During its time, there was no track like it.
(05:43):
The track was so ahead of its time. Fantascope they
invented in nineteen fifty five. You're going to ask what
is fantascope. It was a closed circuit TV that projected
races on a twenty foot screen that was placed next
to the October for so fans could actually watch the
races on a big screen. That They were the first
(06:05):
sport to do a live telecast. They conducted computerized dating
games at the track. Then the races were night We
televised on several of the networks, the International. This sort
about that for a second. It was a three week
event that would start with the American Tronent Championship, then
(06:25):
the International trot and then it would finish with the
Challenge Cup. The track for the Celebrity Magnet. You had
baseball players, basketball players, football players, boggy players from the Jets, Nets, Yankees, Giants,
s Nylanders, Knicks and the Nets. Celebrities, movie stars, singing stars, boxers,
(06:47):
you name it. They were there. An episode of the
I Love Lucy TV show was filmed that Roosevelt Race was.
Here's a list of some of the celebrities that includes
Owan Martin of laugh At. Jules Linger not only a
New York Ranger, but it was also a harness driver
that raced at Roosevelt. Charlie Keller from the Yankees, Lou
(07:09):
Kennert from the Yankees, Boxer Jack Dempsey, James Cagney, Nicky Mantle,
Whitey Ford, Ed Sullivan, George Steinberger, Milton Burrell, Bob Hope,
Nicky Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, Tina Louise. Tina Louise actually did
a goat presentation, Kelly Savalas, Joey Jones, Sugar Ray Sugar Ray, Robinson,
(07:33):
cav Cowaway, George Foreman, Joe Cucko of the Jets, Jerry Kouzman,
Ed trainfle Ron Seboda of the Nets, Joe Namath, Jejacaboor,
Walt Michael's head coach of the New York Jets, Joey Heatherton,
who had had a party one time I was had
the pleaser of driving her home to her an apartment.
(07:54):
And there are men others. Now, we also had presidents
that had visited Roosevelt Raceway, had Lynda V. Johnson, John Kennedy,
and Ronald Reagan. Now Johnson visited Roosevelt Raceway twice. Once
as vice president we have a picture of him cut
in the harness writer's cap, and the other time as
(08:16):
President of the United States. The time that he visited
as President of the United States, they had two races.
They had a Democrat race and a Republican race. Were
found presentations from each party for the winner of that
race afterwards. Some of are sports greatest drivers called Roosevelt
Home Way. Too many to mention, but here's some. Gwyn Hodgens,
(08:39):
Henry and Dick Thomas, Wayne Smart, Joe O'Brien, Johnsson Senior,
new Bell, Billy Hudson, Stanley, Harold burning Sonny and Donald Dancer,
Billy and Peter Houghton, George Fallon, George Cholpy, Buddy Gilmore, Dowansville,
John Chapman, Kid might have a Toe, Herb and Henry
(09:00):
thilly On, Lucian Fontaine, Bennie Webster, Butch Dokey, Norman de Plays,
Bill and Frank Popfinger, Teddy Wing, Bill O'donald, Eddie Lomyer,
Jimmy Maroone, Michael Chance, Stunny, Patterson, Leo Bauer, Joe Marsh,
John Campbell, Kat Manley, and many many others. Here's a
(09:22):
couple of short stories. This one is kind of funny.
Trainer Buck Norris is sleep and we always everyone used
to take after manon naps back then, and he gets
a phone call and the person asks him found how's
Becky beck He responds to, very well, you know, she
was a little lazy this morning, so I gave her
(09:44):
a couple of shots with the whip and that's straightened
her right out, holding silence. On the other end of
the phone, it was his daughter's school calling to see
how Becky, his daughter was doing, because she was home
sick that day. Buck had a horse named Betty Bell,
and he thought it was one that the owners calling
(10:04):
to see how the horse was doing. Another good story,
Jimmy Cruz had a goat that got loose and caused
an accident on old Country road. The incident made the papers,
so if Jimmy was worried that they'd be looking for
the owner of the goat, so he hid the goat
out for two weeks that my dad's barn and nothing
ever occurred of that. But that was kind of comical.
(10:26):
And then here's a statement that Lucian Fontaine made. It
was a fantastic feeling raising at Roosevelt Racewife. It was intimidating.
After being there, you felt like you were part of history.
It was a fantastic place. The lights and the noise
(10:47):
of the crowd. Everyone in New York knew me. I
would walk down the streets and person after person would
stop and ask for my autograph. It was just a
great experience, the greatest ever. Everyone in harness racing wanted
to race at Roosevelt Raceway. It was the major league
(11:08):
of horness racing, said Lucian Fontaine. With that, I'm going
to close the show out. I hope that you enjoyed
our Roosevelt Raceway history lesson. Thanks to the Netherlands and
Hunterington Farms for being our sponsors. That's a wrap for
this week's show. Thanks for listening and please join us
again next week and also check us out on YouTube
(11:31):
and Facebook. Thank you very much. The Harness Racing Alumni
Show
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com