Rockingham New Hampshire Thoroughbred Race Track

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The Rockingham Park Story
SALEM, NH- It was around 1900 and scandal at some American racetracks combined with the era's morals led many states to outlaw gambling. Racetracks were shuttered across the country.

But a cartel of shrewd businessmen, including John Warne "Bet-A-Million" Gates and August Belmont II, vowed to find a tried, and thus, not illegal. They settled on a small outpost just a short train ride from Boston- tiny Salem Depot, New Hampshire.

On June 28, 1906, Rockingham Park opened its doors to more than 10,000 fans who came by trains from Boston, Rhode Island and New York City. They also arrived for the start of the 21-day meeting by carriage or on foot. The press proclaimed the facility, which cost over $1 million to construct, the world's finest racecourse.

The weather was glorious on opening day and six races were run. In the first race, Alyth came from off the pace to win a five-and-a-half furlong sprint for two-year-olds and nip Killochan at the wire. The bookmakers who worked the crowd had a banner day.

Nonetheless, there was a major problem: betting on horses was illegal in New Hampshire.

The Pinkerton detectives stepped in to shut down the gambling, but the 21-day inaugural meeting continued as the bookmaking went underground. When the track closed at the end of the meeting, it would remain shuttered to horse racing for the next 25 years.

But Rockingham Park wouldn't be idle.

The nation was fascinated with a new invention, the airplane, and the New England Aviation Company sponsored an aviation exposition in 1911. In 1912, the first Rockingham Fair opened on the grounds and the week-long event included a horse show, Grand Circuit harness racing, a carnival, exhibits, and even hot air balloons. The fairs continued for the next several years.

Even though harness horses raced here on the Grand Circuit, there was no wagering allowed.

By 1917, World War I had erupted across Europe, and American soldiers were answering the call. Rockingham Park was used as a bivouac site for the 14th United States Army Corps of Engineers before they sailed off to France.

When the war was over and America was swinging through the Roaring Twenties, car racing was in vogue. Promoters laid a wooden track over the horse racing surface and fans came for the roar of the engines. One of the last car races was in 1930 and one of the spectators was a man named Lou Smith.

Smith, who would become known as "Uncle Lou" had a vision.

With the support of the movers and shakers in town, he invested $200,000 to give the Rock, which had fallen into disrepair and disarray, a facelift. Next, with the blessing of those same movers and shakers, he went to work in Concord and led the drive to get pari-mutuel wagering legalized in this state.

Smith enlisted his old friend Damon Runyon, the pre-eminent sportswriter of his time, in his cause. Runyon often made Rockingham the subject of his widely read columns in the old New York Herald-Tribune, and the writer often went with Smith to the New Hampshire Statehouse to twist a few arms.

Despite an anti-gambling sentiment in factions around the state, gambling passed by an overwhelming margin. The House voted 283-100 in favor of granting Rockingham a 100-day race meet, and the Senate concurred 19-4.

In 1933, Rockingham Park was reborn and it became New England's first and finest racetrack.

The opening season was a great success, and the track quickly became known as "The Rock". With its beautiful country setting and quality of racing, The Rock rose to national prominence.

The immortal Seabiscuit, the great Discovery, and the stonecloser Brass Monkey were among the notable horses campaigned in 1934 and 1935. In September 1938, a hurricane whipped across the track and blew jockey Warren Yarberry right out of Singin Slave's saddle. The winds were so forceful that track announcer Babe Rubenstein's box was blown off the roof.

In April 1957, harness racing returned to the Rock with a spring and fall meet as bookends to the summer Thoroughbred meet.

All of the action on the racetrack, plus Smith's genius at promotion and customer service, reaped great rewards. As the crowds flocked through the gates and showed their support at the betting windows, revenue flowed into the state's coffers.

While other states instituted broad-based taxes such as a state wide sales, income or property tax, New Hampshire was able to remain tax-free with the help of Rockingham Park.

New Hampshire instituted the first-in-the-nation state lottery in 1963, and Smith had another flash of brilliance. The Rock created the New Hampshire Sweepstakes in 1964, which was patterned on the Irish Sweepstakes, and it was the nation's first sweepstakes lottery.

The race was televised nationally on ABC Sports, and although a crowd of 65,000 was projected, only about 17,000 people actually attended because there was too much advance publicity. A costly infield footbridge built just for the occasion wasn't needed.

The 1965-67 runnings of the N.H. Sweeps were the richest races in the country for three-year-olds with the $250,000-added handles.

In 1967, Hall-of-Famer Dr. Fager, greatest horse ever to run at Rockingham, set records which stand today, and he was named racing's Horse of the Year in 1968. Once again, the NH Sweeps figured prominently on the national scene as Roman Brother was also named Horse of the Year in 1965 following his 1964 Sweeps victory.

Due to declining lottery ticket sales, the NH Sweeps was discontinued after its fourth running in 1967, and the race wouldn't be revived until much later.

Throughout the 60's and 70's, Rockingham Park was home to some of the sport's great riders. Hall of Famers Edie Arcaro, Johnnie Longden, Bill Shoemaker, George Woolf, and Bobby Ussery all rode here in the track's glory days. Modern day superstars and Hall of Famers Pat Day and Chris McCarron called Rockingham home early in their careers, and Day served his apprenticeship here.

Famous harness drivers who raced at Rockingham in that era include Hall of Fame members John Chapman, Jim Doherty, Stanley Dancer, Bill Haughton and Bob Farrington, plus Leroy Copeland, Walt Warrington, and Wally Ross. Hall of Famer William Rosenberg, the founder of Dunkin Donuts, campaigned some top notch horses under the name of WilRose Farms in nearby East Kingston.

The track was also a proving ground for some of Thoroughbred and harness racing's top horsemen and racing officials.

Moreover, Rockingham Park contributed to the future in other areas. The state's economy was greatly enhanced through the hundreds of millions of dollars paid in taxes over the years. The racetrack provided full time and part time jobs for people across the state, and especially for those in the local community. The overall economic impact of Rockingham Park cannot be overstated.

Unfortunately, the good times came to an abrupt end on July 29, 1980. A Tuesday morning fire destroyed the grandstand and damaged the clubhouse, and the 68-day meeting was canceled.

Lou Smith was no longer around to resurrect his beloved track, as he had passed away in 1969. Most people felt this would be the end of the story for the Rock.

Nevertheless, The Rock would rise again. The current ownership of Max Hugel, Joseph Carney, Jr., Dr. Thomas Carney, and Edward Keelan formed Rockingham Venture, Inc. and brought The Rock back to life.

The Track opened in 1984 with a state-of-the-art new Clubhouse that blended beautifully with the surviving historic structures. A lush turf course was installed in 1986, and after full-card interstate simulcasting was allowed in 1991, a plush Sports Club and family Picnic Pavilion were added.

The Rock which is still a major contributor to the state, regional and local economies, remained New Hampshire's only Thoroughbred racetrack until 2003. The Grade II $200,000 New Hampshire Sweepstakes, which was brought back in 1984, was the signature Thoroughbred race and it traditionally attracted the top grass horses from the east and midwest. The overall economic impact of the racetrack is more than $61 million.

In 2003 Rockingham went back to the future with the re-introduction of Harness racing. The $100,000 guaranteed New Hampshire Sweepstakes is now a harness race and the centerpiece of the summer early and late closing series program, and the summer racing highlight will be the $325,000 estimated Dr. Harry Zweig Memorial Trot. The 21st century harness horses will race on Rockingham's one-mile oval four days per week during the summer meeting.

In addition to the excitement and action of Live Harness racing and full card simulcasting from all of the top Thoroughbred, Harness and Greyhound tracks, the track offers family-oriented entertainment and promotions, charitable Bingo, and trade shows to better serve the community.