Latonia Race Track on Winston Avenue in Latonia ( Covington)

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, six miles south of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, was a

Thoroughbred horse 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 in ...

facility opened in 1883. The track hosted a spring-summer racing series and a second in late fall. It was once regarded as among the United States' top sites for racing, and drew more than 100,000 visitors annually. The 1924

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 ...

winner Black Gold ran at Latonia Race Track, and

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997), was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Tripl ...

got his start there.

Latonia Derby

The track's main attraction was the annual 1½ mile

Latonia Derby The Latonia Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1883 through 1937 at Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, for its first 52 years the Latonia Derby was contested at a mile and a half t ...

, initially run as the "Hindoo Stakes" in honor of the great Kentucky-bred champion Hindoo.It became so popular that in 1912 a

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

was made by Independent Motion Picture Co. titled ''Winning the Latonia Derby'' that featured

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

star

King Baggot William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, B ...

. The inaugural 1883 Latonia Derby was won by

winner

Leonatus Leonatus (foaled in 1880 in Kentucky, died 1898 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1883 Kentucky Derby. Background Leonatus was the son of Uncle John Harper's great racer and sire Longfellow (horse), Longfellow, h ...

. Future Derby winners Kingman (1891),

Halma Halma (from the Greek word ἅλμα meaning "jump") is a strategy board game invented in 1883 or 1884 by George Howard Monks, an American thoracic surgeon at Harvard Medical School. His inspiration was the English game ''Hoppity'' which was ...

(1895),

Ben Brush Ben Brush (1893–1918) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1896 Kentucky Derby. Walter Vosburgh, for whom the Vosburgh Stakes is named, said Bramble was "a breed as tough as pine nuts." On May 6, 1896, Bramble and Rose ...

(1896), Lieut. Gibson (1900), Elwood (1904), and Sir Huon (1906) also won the race and the 1918 edition was won by Harry Payne Whitney's

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

winning colt,

Johren Johren (1915–1932) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United States. His most important win came in the 1918 Belmont Stakes. Background Johren was a "massive" bay horse owned and bred by Harry Payne Whitney. He was sired by ...

Early airmeet

In November 1909, an airmeet was held at Latonia. The airmeet was a small affair, but included famed aviator

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early ...

and others such as Charles Willard and Roy Knabenshue. The highlight of the meet was a race held between Curtiss and Willard "for a cup offered by the local capitalist"."Show For Aircraft". Los Angeles Times, 1909-11-08 p.II2 The meet was "understood to be the opening move to secure for Cincinnati the international aviation meet in 1910", although the meet would eventually be held in Dominguez Field, Los Angeles instead.

Crash

In the days when a rope was used as the starting barrier and restarts were a common problem, in a 1917 race with a field of twelve starters, five horses crashed at the start of a race. July 1, 1939, marked the first time

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 ...

used an electric

starting gate A starting gate also called a starting barrier or starting stalls is a machine used to ensure a fair start to in horse racing and dog racing. History Throughout the history of horse racing, there have been proposals as to how better to start ...

, the invention of

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

Clay Puett (Hoyt) Clay Puett (born 1899 Chillicothe, Texas – 1998) was the inventor of the enclosed electric starting gate used at all major thoroughbred race tracks around the world. On July 1, 1939, Puett's invention made its debut at Exhibition Park Ra ...

1924 International Special

On October 11, 1924, 60,000 racing fans flocked to Latonia Race Track to witness the third and final edition of the

International Special The International Specials of 1924 were a series of three Thoroughbred horse races held in September and October at three different race tracks in the United States. They were called "International" because the race included the champion from France ...

races that pitted the honored guest, French champion Epinard, against top American horses. The race featured stars of the day such as Chilhowee and

winner

Mad Play Mad Play (foaled 1921 in Kentucky) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by August Belmont, Jr., he was sired by Fair Play, who also sired Man o' War, out of a Rock Sand mare, Mad Cap. He was a full brother to 1921 U.S. Champion ...

plus future U.S. Hall of Famers

Princess Doreen Princess Doreen (1921–1952) was a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for being the top American female money-winner. After showing promising form as a two-year-old she improved to be the best female racehorse of her generation for the next thre ...

and

Sarazen Sarazen (1921–1940) was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame Eclipse Award, Champion Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Owned by Phil T. Chinn, Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud, Sarazen won his first three ...

. It was Sarazen who won the race and with it sealed Horse of the Year honors. Epinard finished second, as he had done in the previous two International Specials at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

and

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Thoroughbred stakes races at Latonia Race Track

* Clipsetta Stakes (1883-1937) * Harold Stakes * Latonia Autumn Inaugural Handicap *

Latonia Championship Stakes The Fall Championship Stakes was an American Graded stakes race, Grade III Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky. Open to horses age three and older, it was contested on Synthetic racetrack surfaces for horse r ...

* Latonia Cup Handicap *

* Latonia Independence Handicap *

Latonia Oaks Latonia may refer to: * ''Latonia'' (frog), a genus of frogs in the family Alytidae * Latonia, Covington, a place in Kentucky * Latonia Blackman (born 1982), Barbadian netball player * Latonia Moore (born 1979), American opera singer See also * ...

Closure

Financial difficulties during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

forced Latonia Race Track to close its doors with its last race card held on July 29, 1939. The facility was sold to Standard Oil of Ohio and dismantled during

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 ...

. Today the property is the site of the Latonia Shopping Center and WCVG-AM radio. In 1959, a new operation called the Latonia Race Course opened in

Florence, Kentucky Florence is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. Florence is the second largest city located in Northern Kentucky, after Covington, and part of the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area. The population was 31,946 at ...

about 10 miles west of the original Latonia site. In 1986 that facility changed its name to

Turfway Park Turfway Park is an American horse racing track located within the city limits of Florence, Kentucky, about south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during two meets each year—Holiday (December), ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Historical Texts and Many Images of Latonia Race Track

Government of Kentucky, Kentucky Historical Society, City of Covington

Turfway Park official website with brief history of Latonia Race Track

Kentucky Historical Society photo of the Latonia Racetrack grandstand

Kentucky Historical Society photo of the "home stretch" at Latonia Racetrack

Kentucky Historical Society photo of the Latonia Racetrack
Horse racing venues in Kentucky Defunct horse racing venues in the United States History of Kentucky Buildings and structures in Kenton County, Kentucky 1883 establishments in Kentucky 1939 disestablishments in Kentucky Sports venues completed in 1883