Garden State Park was a
harness
A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types:
* Bondage harness
* Child harness
* Climbing harness
* Dog harness
* Pet harness
* Five-point harness
* Horse harness
* Parrot harness
* ...
and
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
race track
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...
in
Cherry Hill,
Camden County, New Jersey
Camden County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 523,485, an increase of 9,828 (1.9%) from the 2010 census, making it the state's 8th-largest county. Its county seat is ...
. It is now the site of a high-end, mixed-use "town center" development of stores, restaurants, apartments, townhouses, and condominiums. Garden State Park's 600 acre (≈1 square mile) land area is roughly bounded by
Route 70, Haddonfield Road, Chapel Avenue, and
New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
's
Atlantic City Rail Line.
History
Garden State Park opened on July 7, 1942 after delays caused by raw material rationing at the United States' entry into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Due to the seizure of 30,000 tons of structural steel by war authorities, developer
Eugene Mori mostly constructed Garden State Park's ornate Georgian-style grandstand of wood. Limited amounts of steel came from the demolition of New York City's elevated railways. Despite this inauspicious start, 'the Garden,' as it was known, was officially 'out of the gate.'
In its heyday, it would host some of the finest
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racehorses
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 pr ...
in the nation at the signature
Jersey Derby
The Jersey Derby is a $60,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993, it has been raced on grass at a distance of miles.
A Jerse ...
. Its
Garden State Stakes
The Garden State Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid November at the now defunct Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A futurity event for two-year-olds, it is sometimes referred to as the Garden S ...
and the
Gardenia Stakes offered some of the largest purses available for two-year-olds. Horses raced at Garden State Park included
Whirlaway
Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...
,
Citation
A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...
, and
Secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...
on a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon in early 1972 in the
Garden State Futurity
The Garden State Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid November at the now defunct Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A futurity event for two-year-olds, it is sometimes referred to as the Garden S ...
.
Garden State Park's success sparked a wave of entertainment-oriented growth and development in the formerly rural community of Delaware Township, New Jersey (now Cherry Hill Township). Mori followed his achievement at the racetrack with the construction of the
Cherry Hill Inn on the site of Abraham Browning's Cherry Hill Farm (at
Route 38
The following highways are numbered 38:
Australia
* A38 (Sydney)
Canada
* Alberta Highway 38
* Ontario Highway 38 (former)
* Saskatchewan Highway 38
Czech Republic
* I/38 Highway; Czech: Silnice I/38
Germany
* Bundesautobahn 38
India
* N ...
and Haddonfield Road); and in 1967 the Cherry Hill Lodge, also on Route 38 to the east of the
Cherry Hill Mall
The Cherry Hill Mall, owned by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), was originally known as Cherry Hill Shopping Center, commonly reported as the first indoor, climate-controlled shopping center east of the Mississippi River in the ...
. Soon to follow in 1961 was the Cherry Hill Shopping Center (today's
Cherry Hill Mall
The Cherry Hill Mall, owned by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), was originally known as Cherry Hill Shopping Center, commonly reported as the first indoor, climate-controlled shopping center east of the Mississippi River in the ...
, the first enclosed shopping mall on the
East Coast
East Coast may refer to:
Entertainment
* East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop
* East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017
* East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004
* East Coast FM, a ra ...
) and the super-luxurious
Rickshaw Inn The Rickshaw Inn was a 180-room hotel with a gold-plated roof, which was situated on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, opposite Garden State Park and adjacent to the Latin Casino, a popular nightclub which had relocated from Philadelphia to nea ...
with its gold-plated roof, which was situated on
Route 70 opposite Garden State Park.
Diagonally across Route 70 on the map in then-Delaware Township was the
Latin Casino
The Latin Casino was a Philadelphia-area nightclub that first opened in 1944 at 1309 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many top entertainers performed at the Latin including Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Durante, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, ...
, adjacent to the Rickshaw and the Garden. This dinner nightclub hosted acts like
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
,
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
,
Liberace
Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...
, Cherry Hill Estates neighbors
Al Martino
Al Martino (born Jasper Cini; October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop croone ...
&
Frankie Avalon
Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...
and more; before closing due to competition from casinos in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
.
Followed later by
Atlantic City Race Course
The Atlantic City Race Course (ACRC), formerly the Atlantic City Race Track, was a Thoroughbred horse race track located in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The track is located off th ...
and
Monmouth Park Racetrack
Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...
(1946), Garden State Park became a crucial part of what was called the "Golden Triangle" of New Jersey racing.
Fire
This triangle would lose a leg on April 14, 1977, when a fire raged undetected at Garden State Park in the Colonial Room restaurant's kitchen during a racing program. Despite no functional firefighting system, the wooden grandstand would last long enough to allow more than 11,000 patrons and employees to escape the
inferno
Inferno may refer to:
* Hell, an afterlife place of suffering
* Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire
Film
* ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film
* Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker
* Inferno (1973 fi ...
. At 4:45 p.m., the walls and massive roof overhang of the grandstand gave way to the flames and reduced the structure to a smoking ruin. Despite the flying embers very nearly igniting The
Rickshaw Inn The Rickshaw Inn was a 180-room hotel with a gold-plated roof, which was situated on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, opposite Garden State Park and adjacent to the Latin Casino, a popular nightclub which had relocated from Philadelphia to nea ...
across the street and the wooden barns & stables on the backstretch, the damage was contained to the massive grandstand complex. Three lives were lost in the fire. One patron (Ed Bucholski) and one employee were later found in the rubble, and one fire officer (John McWilliams) died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on-scene. But, the very next day, the vault with the previous days' "take" was opened, with the money intact; while outside on the track, horses continued to train.
Rebuilding
Despite the stables on the east side of the track remaining open for training, Garden State Park no longer held races until securities trader
Robert Brennan financed construction of a new $178 million steel and glass grandstand which opened on April 1, 1985. The first race that day followed the schedule from the day the original track burned. The track, running night programs, would provide racing for
standardbred harness racing as well as
thoroughbred racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...
. The grandstand also had on the Clubhouse level
The Phoenix Room, which also served as a large banquet hall that hosted events year-round.
On May 27, 1985,
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...
winner
Spend A Buck won the first
Jersey Derby
The Jersey Derby is a $60,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993, it has been raced on grass at a distance of miles.
A Jerse ...
at the new Garden State Park, having earlier the same year won the Cherry Hill Mile and the Garden State Stakes, both at Garden State Park, and also the
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
. The $2.6 million purse, including a $2 million bonus put up by Brennan for winning the four races, was the largest single purse in American racing history up to that point.
One of the controversial tax breaks the facility enjoyed was a legislative loophole that allowed a near total exemption from what would have been high county property taxes because it was categorized as a "farm." It qualified for this special exemption because its operations generated horse manure that could be sold. The tax classification was allowed because the business "produced over $500 per year in agricultural products".
Some of the important annual races at Garden State Park Racetrack included:
*
Betsy Ross Handicap
*
Gardenia Stakes
*
Garden State Stakes
The Garden State Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid November at the now defunct Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. A futurity event for two-year-olds, it is sometimes referred to as the Garden S ...
(Garden State Futurity)
*
Jersey Derby
The Jersey Derby is a $60,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993, it has been raced on grass at a distance of miles.
A Jerse ...
*
Trenton Handicap
The Trenton Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Open to horses age three and older, the race was contested on dirt at various distances during its tenure:
* mil ...
*
Vineland Handicap
*
William Penn Stakes
Garden State Park never re-acquired its glamorous past. Over sixteen years, the track suffered from the apathy of New Jersey horsemen and New Jersey state officials, and unrestrained competition from the Atlantic City casinos. The final straw came when
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
Christine Todd Whitman vetoed legislation that would have permitted slot machines at New Jersey racetracks, a measure that possibly could have saved the Cherry Hill landmark.
Demolition
On May 3, 2001, 2,000 fans came to see the last racing program at Garden State Park. After 58 years, the Garden ran its last race.
On October 30, 2003, with the property sold to Realen-Turnberry for a mixed-use 'town center' redevelopment, demolition started on the grandstand often referred to as a masterpiece. By late March 2004, all that remained of the racecourse was the original 1942 gatehouse on
Route 70.
Redevelopment
Garden State Park was redeveloped into separate retail and residential sections, owned by M & M Realty Partners. The retail section includes
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
,
Wegmans
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a privately held American supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Gates, New York, and was founded in 1916 in Rochester.
As of , Wegmans has 110 stores, mostly in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions. The ...
,
Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the l ...
,
Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...
,
Christmas Tree Shops
Christmas Tree Shops is an American chain of specialty retail stores headquartered in Union, New Jersey. As of 2021, the chain operates 80 stores in 20 U.S. states.
History
In 1970, Charles Bilezikian and his wife, Doreen opened the first sto ...
,
Dick's Sporting Goods, and
Best Buy
Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
, and restaurants such as
Five Guys Burgers & Fries,
Panera Bread
Panera Bread is an American chain store of bakery-café fast casual restaurants with over 2,000 locations, all of which are in the United States and Canada. Its headquarters are in Sunset Hills, Missouri.
The company operates as Saint Louis ...
,
Houlihan's
Houlihan's is an American casual restaurant and bar chain with locations operating throughout the country, 60% of which are franchised. It is headquartered in Leawood within Johnson County, Kansas. The first Houlihan's opened on April 1, 1972, ...
,
Chick Fil-A, and
Starbucks Coffee
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
,
The Cheesecake Factory
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is an American restaurant company and distributor of cheesecakes based in the United States. The company operates 219 full-service restaurants: 206 under The Cheesecake Factory brand and 13 under the Grand Lux ...
, Brio Tuscan Grille.
There have been plans by
Parx Casino and Racing
Parx Casino and Racing (formerly Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino) is a thoroughbred horse racing venue and the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania. Parx is located in Bensalem Township in Bucks County, northeast of the city of P ...
and
Penn National Gaming
Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn National Gaming, is an American entertainment company and operator of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming. It operates 43 properties in 20 states, online sports betting in 14 jurisd ...
, in a partnership, to build an Off Track Betting Parlor at the site of the former raceway near the lone standing entrance gate. On May 14, 2018, the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
struck down the
Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (), also known as PASPA or the Bradley Act, was a law, judicially-overturned in 2018, that was meant to define the legal status of sports betting throughout the United States. This act ...
, paving the way for states to legalize sports betting. New Jersey's enabling legislation that regulates and taxes sports betting at casinos and racetracks will include the former racetrack. The planned OTB plans to offer sports betting in Cherry Hill.
References
External links
April 28, 2001 ESPN story on the closure of Garden State Park
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Camden County, New Jersey
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Defunct horse racing venues in New Jersey
Defunct sports venues in New Jersey
1942 establishments in New Jersey
Sports venues completed in 1942
2001 disestablishments in New Jersey