Yonkers Raceway
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Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred
harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...
dirt track and slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New York, near the New York City border. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by
MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...
.


History

Yonkers Raceway, considered a city landmark, was opened in 1899 by William H. Clark's Empire City Trotting Club. Clark died in 1900 and, with much litigation by his heirs over its proposed sale, the track remained closed for most of the next seven years except for special events. One such event occurred in 1902 when Barney Oldfield set a one-mile (1.6 km) record in an automobile at Empire City Race Track. Driving the Ford '999', he covered the distance in 55.54 seconds. The facility was purchased by New York grocery store magnate James Butler, who reopened it for Thoroughbred horse racing in 1907. Among the notable thoroughbreds who raced at Empire City, in 1936
Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...
won the
Scarsdale Handicap The Scarsdale Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race open to horses age three and older first run on October 16, 1918, over a mile and seventy yards on dirt at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. Historical notes In its second ...
. After Butler's death in 1934, the track continued to host " the flats" until 1942 when it was converted back to being a harness track. Some of its feature races were taken over by other New York area racetracks.


Historic Thoroughbred flat races

* Empire City Handicap (1900–1953) *
Yonkers Handicap Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...
(1907-1946) * Fleetwing Handicap (1908-1953) *
Whirl Stakes Whirl may refer to: Spinning * Whirling, a dance genre * Whirl (''Transformers''), a character in the ''Transformers'' franchise * Tilt-A-Whirl, a type of amusement ride * Atomic whirl, a symbol of atheism * ''Whirl'' magazine, a luxury lifesty ...
(1908–1930) * Empire City Derby (1917–1933) *
Scarsdale Handicap The Scarsdale Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race open to horses age three and older first run on October 16, 1918, over a mile and seventy yards on dirt at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. Historical notes In its second ...
(1918–1947) *
Butler Handicap The Butler Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York in 1935 as the Butler Memorial Handicap. The race was named in honor of Empire City Race Track owner James Butler who had died ...
(1935–1953) *
Empire City Gold Cup The Empire City Gold Cup was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1947 and 1948 at Belmont Park then at Jamaica Race Course from 1949 through 1953 as a race created for horses age three and older. With its lucrative $100,000 purse, it ...
(1947–1953) In 1950, William H. Cane, for whom the Cane Pace is named, headed a syndicate formed as the Algam Corporation which acquired Empire City and converted it to Yonkers Raceway. Its popularity having greatly declined since the 1960s (when crowds would occasionally reach 50,000), the entire property, according to some, had become an eyesore due to its owners leaving it in a state of disrepair. In 1972, the
Rooney family The Rooney family is an Irish-American family known for its connections to the sports, acting, and political fields. After emigrating from Ireland in the 1840s, it established its American roots in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1880s. The Roon ...
acquired Yonkers Raceway. It underwent some cosmetic changes in the late 1990s. It was used as a flea market, and hosted the annual Westchester County Fair, sponsored by the county's Parks Department. In 1996, the finish line was relocated to the end of the stretch, increasing the length of the stretch from to the current . The following year, the grandstand was demolished. There was consideration on selling the site to the National Football League’s
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
which would have included a stadium; however, the plan was shelved after the environmental impact statement showed there would be significant traffic from elsewhere in the metropolitan area, and there was not enough political support for it. In 2015, Yonkers Raceway applied for permission from the New York State Gaming Commission to relocate its finish line back by approximately 100 feet. This proposal was endorsed by the New York division of the Standardbred Owners Association. As of 2018, the new finish line has been in use for a considerable period of time. In January 2018, Yonkers eliminated the "passing lane" in the stretch that allowed horses to be in the second spot on the inside in the stretch to move inside one spot and come up in the inside. In January 2019,
MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...
bought the racetrack and casino from the Rooney family for $850 million in cash and stock. MGM then immediately sold the land and buildings to its affiliated REIT,
MGM Growth Properties MGM Growth Properties LLC (MGP) was a real estate investment trust based in Summerlin South, Nevada, that invested in large-scale casino properties. The company had whole or majority ownership of 15 properties, all of which were operated by MGM ...
, for $625 million, leasing back the property and structures for $50 million per year. Vici Properties acquired MGM Growth, including Empire City, in 2022.


Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway

Yonkers Raceway had a $225-million renovation designed by EwingCole to put in more than 7,500 slot machines. The first phase opened on October 11, 2006, with 1,870 machines. Despite a " soft opening", with no major advertising or promotional campaigns, Yonkers netted $3.8 million in revenue in its first week, outpacing its nearest competitor, Saratoga Casino and Raceway, by two-thirds. The second phase of the project, which opened on December 28, 2006, added of space to bring the total number of slot machines to 4,000. On March 12, 2007, the third phase opened to bring the slot machine total to 5,300. Because the facility falls under state lottery laws, the minimum age to play the slot machines at Empire City is 18, unlike the other area casinos, where it is 21. In a report released in 2012, Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway was the state's "most successful casino and racing venue". Through 2011, the facility provided more than 3,000 jobs and contributed $262 million in "economic output". In January 2013, Empire City Casino completed a new $50 million expansion designed by
Studio V Architecture Studio V Architecture, styled as STUDIO V Architecture, founded in 2006, is a New York City-based architecture and planning firm led by Jay Valgora. The firm executes projects across New York and throughout the tri-state region. Studio V has been hi ...
that added 66,000 square feet to the casino. The expansion featured a porte-cochere sculptural entrance; the largest window in the Northeast, a 300-foot-long and 27-foot-high depiction of the New York City skyline made entirely of nails; a new gaming floor with nearly 700 slot machines; and two new restaurants. As of 2015, the casino hosts
blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...
, craps,
roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
, and baccarat tables in addition to the slot machines. The games are fully automated.


Restaurants

*Dan Rooney's Café & Bar: The first restaurant to open in Empire City Casino's $50 million expansion is an Irish Pub styled after the original
Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL), and son of the Steelers' ...
’s Café & Bar which was established in Pittsburgh in the early 1900s by the Rooney family. The train car dining room hosts 35 flat-screen televisions and nightly dueling pianos. “Two-time Michelin star winner and local New Yorker, Chef Christopher Lee” created the pub's menu which contains a burger that won the Greenwich Food & Wine Festival Burger Battle in 2012. *Pinch: The second restaurant in Empire City Casino's expansion, Pinch, was created by Ducasse Studio, the consulting service of the “French chef and culinary impresario”, Alain Ducasse. The name, Pinch, is “a playful take on pintxo (pronounced PEEN-cho), a type of Basque tapa, as well as a hint that the menu mixes a bit of this and a bit of that.” Pinch seats 250 people and has an international menu. *Alley 810: A Craft cocktail lounge, opening in 2013, that will have two bowling lanes. *Nonno's Trattoria: A staple of Empire City, Nonno's Trattoria is a classic Italian Restaurant. :Empire Terrace: A restaurant the overlooks the racetrack, allowing gamblers to dine while watching live races.


Feature stakes races


History

Yonkers used to be the site of the Cane Pace, one of the legs of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. It is now the host track for another leg, the
Messenger Stakes The Messenger Stakes is an American harness racing event for 3-year-old pacing horses. It was organized in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York (on suburban Long Island) to join with the Cane Pace and the Little Brown Jug to create ...
. Yonkers is also home to the Yonkers Trot, one of the legs of the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Trotters. Due to the renovations at Yonkers, the Messenger and Yonkers Trot were moved to different racetracks for the 2004 and 2005 editions. The Messenger was moved to Harrington Raceway in Delaware in both years, and the Yonkers Trot was moved to Hawthorne Race Course in
Stickney, IL Stickney is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The village is named for Alpheus Beede Stickney, a railroad executive who played a central role in establishing the Clearing Industrial District. Per the 2020 census, the population w ...
in 2004, and Freehold Raceway in New Jersey in 2005. Yonkers Raceway ran the Yonkers Trot and the Messenger on November 25, 2006, becoming the first harness track in America to host two Triple Crown races on the same day. Glidemaster, by virtue of winning the $728,000 Yonkers Trot, became the eighth horse to clinch the Trotting Triple Crown; the trotter would go on to be named 2006 ''Harness Horse of the Year''. Yonkers Raceway is also home to the Art Rooney Pace for three-year-olds. However, continued delays in the reopening of the track forced the 2006 edition of the race to be moved to Monticello Raceway. The final of the 2007 Art Rooney Pace, run on June 2, 2007, was the richest race in Yonkers history, with a $1 million purse. It was won by Southwind Lynx, driven by
Tim Tetrick Timothy A. Tetrick, born November 22, 1981, in Flora, Illinois, is an American Harness Racing driver. Tim started driving Standardbreds at a very young age and on November 27, 2007, broke the record of number of wins (1,077) in a single year. Ti ...
, with a late outside run in 1:52 3/5. The current track record for a trotting race horse is 1:54 3/5 set by Shutter Boy on October 30, 2009, with the trainer John McDermott and driver Yannick Gingras; this was not a stakes race.


Notable stakes races

* George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series * Blue Chip Matchmaker *
Art Rooney Pace The Art Rooney Pace is an American harness racing event for three-year-old standardbred pacers run each year at Yonkers Raceway with the exception of 2006 when it was hosted by Monticello Raceway. Yonkers Trot * Hudson Filly Trot *
Messenger Stakes The Messenger Stakes is an American harness racing event for 3-year-old pacing horses. It was organized in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York (on suburban Long Island) to join with the Cane Pace and the Little Brown Jug to create ...
* Lady Maud Pace * New York Night of Champions * Several New York Sire Stakes Events


Transportation

The
Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...
offers a “one-day-getaway” package that includes a $10 free play and $10 food voucher, as well as free shuttle service to Empire City Casino from the Mount Vernon West train station. Several
Bee-Line The Westchester County Bee-Line System, branded on the buses in lowercase as ''the bee-line system'', is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the county's Department of Public Works and Transportation. History ...
bus routes make stops at Empire City Casino as well, including routes 7, 20, BxM4c, 430, 440, and 470.


Cross Country

The track was the site of the 1941 USA Cross Country Championships.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yonkers Raceway and Empire City Casino Yonkers Raceway Horse racing venues in New York (state) Cross country running courses in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1899 Buildings and structures in Yonkers, New York Tourist attractions in Westchester County, New York Sports in Yonkers, New York Harness racing venues in the United States Casinos in New York (state) 1899 establishments in New York (state) Sports venues in Westchester County, New York MGM Resorts International