Centennial Race Track was a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

track located in

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistica ...

. The facility opened on July 4, 1950 after the Colorado legislature passed the Parimutuel Act of 1948 opening the way for

parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...

. Nearly 10,000 people attended opening day, with a handle of over $500,000. The track faced stiff competition from nearby tracks and its geographic location placed it far from the famed stables on the east and west coasts. As a result, attendance dropped sharply during the first year. For the remainder of the 1950 season, income only averaged $50,000 per day. The track was devastated by the 1965 Great South Platte Flood, forcing the rescue of more than a hundred horses by owners, trainers and jockeys. Diversification was planned early on with

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

motor races held on the track in 1951 and 1952, but not after that. Track promoters brought in famous jockeys such as

Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. For 29 years he held the world record for total professional jockey victories. Early life Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Sh ...

and

Bill Hartack William John Hartack Jr. (December 9, 1932 – November 26, 2007), born in Colver, Pennsylvania, was a Hall of Fame jockey. Colver is in the northwestern part of Cambria Township, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Ebensburg, the county seat. ...

to bring prestige to the course, but attendance continued to decline. In 1981, the property was sold to the Talley Corporation and Denver developer Kenneth Good for $17.7 million. The last race was held on November 6, 1983, the facility was demolished and the land used for a housing development.Centennial Race Track
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References

{{AAA tracks Defunct horse racing venues in the United States Motorsport venues in Colorado Defunct motorsport venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 1950