Bel Air Racetrack was a horse racing facility located one mile north of

Baltimore Pike The Baltimore Pike was an auto trail connecting Baltimore, Maryland, with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today, parts of the road are signed as U.S. Route 1 (US 1), US 13, and a small portion of Pennsylvania Route 41 (PA 41). A section of the ro ...

and east of Tollgate Road in

Bel Air, Maryland The town of Bel Air is the county seat of Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. History Bel Air's identity has gone through several incarnations since 1780. Aquilla Scott, w ...

. The 100-acre site was originally plotted in 1870 but was later improved and expanded in 1936 by new owner Ray Bryson to include a 3/4-mile race track, new starting gate, and larger grandstands. The track flourished until the 1940s when the owners became embroiled in political efforts to close the track. After Bryson died in 1958, the state legislature eventually prevailed and the track closed in 1962. The property is now the site of

Harford Mall The Harford Mall is a shopping mall owned by CBL & Associates Properties that is located near the junction of Maryland Route 24 and U.S. Route 1, about north of Baltimore, in Bel Air, Maryland, United States. Its anchor is Macy's. It is the onl ...

.Bel Air Chronicles, Carol Deibel

References

Defunct horse racing venues in the United States 1962 disestablishments in Maryland {{Maryland-sports-venue-stub