Readville Race Track

Photographer: Jones, Leslie, 1886-1967

Hyde Park, Massachusetts
1932

Crash at Readville

The Readville Race Track, originally known as the Readville Trotting Park, was located half in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston and half in Dedham. Originally part of Camp Meigs, a Union Army camp where regiments from Massachusetts trained during the Civil War (including the famous 54^th Massachusetts Regiment), the land was purchased by the Norfolk County Agricultural Society in 1869. The site was used for agricultural shows for much of the late 19^th century, with a half-mile track built for racing.

In 1895, the New England Trotting Horse Breeders’ Association began construction of a mile track, grandstands, bleachers, stables and a hotel. When the track was officially opened on August 25, 1896, it was immediately recognized as one of the premier venues for harness racing in the United States. In 1903, history was made at Readville when a five-year-old mare named Lou Dillon became the first trotter to run a two-minute mile. In addition to this milestone achievement, 1903 saw the first auto race at Readville. Auto racing became so popular that on Memorial Day 1905, a crowd of 12,000 people showed up to watch the gas-burners compete. In 1906, the first recorded “stock” car race at Readville was held, a race using automobiles built for private use and not for racing.

Horse and auto racing continued to coexist at Readville Race Track but by the late 1920s horses trod the track and the car was king. In the early 1930s, a new auto track was laid using fill from the newly constructed Sumner Tunnel with a harder surface and steep banks along the curves to accommodate the speed of the modern racer. From the early to mid 1930s, top drivers continued to race at Readville. May 31, 1937 was the last official day of auto racing at the famous race track. Although drivers would come occasionally to try out their machines, the racing days at Readville were over. By World War II, the site was largely abandoned, although U.S. Navy pilots from Squantum Naval Air Station flying their yellow Stearman biplanes would practice “touch and go” landings on the remnants of the old oval track.

According to Walter “Bud” Barrett, Jr., an authority on the local history of auto and horse racing and the writer of The Story of the Readville Race Track, the entire site of the track is now part of the Stop & Shop warehouse and commissary. Mr. Barrett notes that a chain link fence at the end of Hyde Park Avenue marks the old entrance to the Readville Race Track, and a small strip of land along the fence to the left are all that remain of the original racing grounds.

Sources:

• Readville: The Story of the Readville Race Track, by Walter Barrett, Jr.