Trackside view of Portland Meadows grandstand and outdoor eating area

Portland Meadows was an American

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 ...

venue in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, owned by

The Stronach Group Stronach Group, doing business as 1/ST, is an entertainment and real estate company in North America with Thoroughbred horse racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core.Magna Entertainment Corp., MI Developments Inc. (MID) 2001. Built by William P. Kyne, who also built

Bay Meadows Racetrack Bay Meadows was a horse racing track in San Mateo, California from 1934 until 2008, in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. History Built on the site of an old airfield, Bay Meadows Racecourse was the longest continually operating t ...

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

, the facility opened on September 14, 1946. The track's closure was announced in March 2019, following the conclusion of the 2018-19 racing season, with the property slated for redevelopment. The last day for simulcast racing was December 7, 2019 and the poker room closed December 15, 2019. Demolition began in February 2020. The track has hosted both

American Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at s ...

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

and

Thoroughbred horse race 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 ...

s. Over the years, Portland Meadows has been the site of numerous outdoor music concerts and other forms of entertainment. The national high school

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

championship, the

Nike Cross Nationals Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) (formerly known as Nike Team Nationals) is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the unofficial team national championship of United States high school cross country. Sponsored by Nike, It was designed to he ...

, have been held at Portland Meadows. The grounds are in Hayden Meadows near the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

and are above sea-level.

Track history

In 1945, construction began of Portland Meadows on November 20, under the direction of William P. Kyne. Kyne is also known as the founder of Bay Meadows Racecourse and he was largely responsible for the passage of the 1933 law which legalized pari-mutuel wagering in California. On September 14, 1946, Portland Meadows opened with over 10,000 people in attendance. Portland Meadows made history as the first thoroughbred track in the nation to offer night-time racing. This was made possible by use of a lighting system designed by General Electric which has been said has enough power "to light a four-lane superhighway from Portland to Salem, a distance of 40 miles." In 1948, the track was closed due to the Vanport Flood. This flood destroyed the town of

Vanport City, Oregon Vanport, sometimes referred to as Vanport City or Kaiserville, was a city of wartime public housing in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States, between the contemporary Portland city boundary and the Columbia River. It was destroyed in the 1948 ...

, and resulted in roughly $250,000 worth of damage to the track. Greyhound races were held at the track in 1956 only, from August until October, after the Multnomah Kennel Club (MKC) was evicted from Civic Stadium by the impending relocation of the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

baseball team from

Vaughn Street Park Vaughn Street Park was a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Portland, Oregon. Opened in 1901, it lasted for over a half century and was torn down in 1956. Its primary tenant was the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast ...

. The following year, MKC moved its races to a newly built track in Wood Village, named Fairview Park. On April 25, 1970, a fire burned the grandstand to the ground. Fortunately the blaze took no lives, human or equine, but it did end the meet. In 1971, the facilities were rebuilt and the track reopened to a record crowd of 12,635. In 1981, Gary Stevens began a two-season streak as the leading rider at Portland Meadows. In 1987, the Coors

Portland Meadows Mile Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

became the first $100,000-stakes race in Oregon history. Present Value, a horse ridden by Hall of Fame jockey William Shoemaker, won the race. In 1994, two-year-old champion Jumron began to draw fans from across the Pacific Northwest. He went on to become the first horse to begin his career at Portland Meadows that raced in the Kentucky Derby. In 2016, a licensed casino-style poker club, Portland Meadows Poker, was opened near the indoor stands. Patrons paid a small fee to buy into live poker tournaments and small to medium stakes un-raked cash games. Portland Meadows closed in 2019, and the main building was demolished in February 2020. In 2021,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

opened a delivery station in the parking lot of the track.

Magna ownership

In 2001, Magna Entertainment acquired the racing license for Portland Meadows. Prior to the 2001–2002 meet, the racing surface was completely renovated. The Clubhouse level and Turf Club Restaurant were also refurbished and a new simulcast center was opened on the mainline level. In 2003, Portland Meadows undergoes a series of improvements including the construction of a children's play area, upgrades in the paddock, gallons upon gallons of new paint throughout the building, new fencing and the inclusion of a grass apron. Among additional changes of significance are the live race days and an increase in handle. Since dropping Sunday racing and adding Monday matinees, there's been an increase of over 100 new simulcast outlets taking the Portland Meadows signal. In 2003, with the inception of Monday afternoon racing, it was on December 22, Portland Meadows boasted a handle in excess of half a million dollars for the first time in over 10 years. With that, the attention, interest and handle continue to rise. In 2004, Chris Dragone takes the helm as the new General Manager. In 2006, Dwayne Yuzik is named General Manager of Portland Meadows; Chris Dragone takes over as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Maryland Jockey Club. On March 6, 2007, Joe Crispin breaks Gary Stevens 25-year-old record for wins in a single season when he boots home his 127th winner of the year aboard Lady Boswell. Crispin finished the season with 162 victories. On November 5, 2007, Lethal Grande, the all-time richest Oregon-bred runner died due to an injury sustained during a race. He finished his career with $409,788 in career earnings. On January 7, 2009, Portland Meadows celebrated the start of Wednesday racing with the first ever Portland Meadows vs. Golden Gate Fields Jockey Challenge sponsored by Xpressbet. The challenge pitted the top four riders at Portland Meadows versus the top four riders from Golden Gate Fields including horse racing's all-time winningest rider Russell Baze. Portland Meadows jockeys took home the trophy winning three of the four races with that season's leading jockey Debbie Hoonan-Trujillo taking home the top riding honor. on February 29, 2009, Portland Meadows set an all-time single day handle record with $1,434,445 bet on the nine race program that included the Portland Meadows Oaks. March 23, 2009 on Portland Mile Day, the track saw two long time track records fall as Salt Water broke a 32-year-old track record winning a five furlong allowance race in 57.13 seconds. Later that day in the Mile, Crafty Power broke a 33-year-old record for the one mile distance stopping the clock in 1:35.94. On January 13, 2010, Trainer Jonathan Nance set a new Portland Meadows record when he sent out six winners in one card. On May 1, 2010, Portland Meadows played host to a massive crowd of over 20,000 for Oregon Derby Day and Kentucky Derby Day. Portland Meadows presented a check for $10,265 to the Oregon National Guard Emergency Relief Fund on behalf of the People's Horse for 2010 Maria Margarita, who earned that amount with 3 victories and 8 in the money finishes. The Stronach Group acquired all of MI Developments racing and gaming assets and assumed ownership of Portland Meadows on July 3, 2011. Trainer Felimon Alvarado clinched a perfect week on October 26, 2011, winning with all six of his starters.

References

External links

Portland Meadows Track History
{{Sports venues in Portland, Oregon, collapsed Buildings and structures in Portland, Oregon Cross country running courses in Oregon Sports venues completed in 1946 Defunct horse racing venues in Oregon Sports venues in Portland, Oregon Stronach Group 1946 establishments in Oregon 2019 disestablishments in Oregon East Columbia, Portland, Oregon North Portland, Oregon Event venues disestablished in 2019 Demolished sports venues in Oregon Buildings and structures demolished in 2020

Track history

Magna ownership

See also

References

External links