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Harness racetrack Buffalo Raceway is located south of Buffalo, New York. It features a half-mile harness track that underwent resurfacing in 2010.
Buffalo Raceway History
James J. Dunnigan, a citizen of Hamburg, New York, founded Buffalo Raceway in June 1942, not long after the state of New York approved legislation permitting pari-mutuel harness racing.He decided to launch his venture at the Hamburg Erie County Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds provided an ideal site, just 14 miles from downtown Buffalo, and had a half-mile race track and grandstand in place for its Fair activities. There was fierce competition in the races, and the locals were happy to see a new sport in Western New York. Attendance was frequently in the range of eight to 10 thousand people. Many Canadian stables, as well as stables from as far afield as California, arrived in Hamburg due to a shortage of local horsemen and horses. The Dazzle Direct team, together with driver Douglas Harvey, broke several world records at the Raceway in its early years. One such record was the three-quarter mile distance of 1:30 1/2 for older pacers, which they set in their inaugural year. It took twenty years for someone to break this record. After sixty-three years, the Raceway is still located at the Fairgrounds.
Trotter Wee Laird tied the half-mile track world record for the distance of three quarters of a mile in 1944 with a time of 1:32. For more than 20 years, this record was also in place. Wee Laird, a locally owned stallion, lived on in Western New York and produced many offspring. He is the ancestor of several of the horse lineages that we currently own.
trotting mare Probably the most well-known horse from Buffalo Raceway in the 1940s was Proximity. Proximity, raced at many tracks in America and Canada and owned by Ralph and Gordon Verhurst of Victor, New York, was a regular winner of the free-for-all class. She also added legitimacy to the Hamburg oval’s output by winning often.
In the early years, the Raceway hosted 70 race programs annually, with the majority of races taking place between mid-May and August. Fans in the area could watch racing for six months out of the year since Batavia Downs was open for racing in the middle of the summer and early fall.
Buffalo Raceway upgraded the property in the 1940s by building new stables and a contemporary clubhouse. James Dunnigan got well-known in the community and started volunteering for charitable causes.
With the Raceway’s attendance and wagering handle both continuing to rise, the 1950s were a prosperous decade. Roadmaster, driven by Ohio horseman Chester Fleure and trained by him, set a new track record in 1955 with a time of 2:00 4/5. In 1957, Paul Keim, the Assistant Race Secretary, persuaded the Reynolds Tobacco family of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to relocate their W. N. Reynolds stake races for children aged two and three to the Hamburg oval. Fans in Hamburg had the chance to watch the top colts and fillies in the country every year thanks to this series, which ran for thirty years.
As the 1960s got underway, Buffalo Raceway solidified its place in the harness racing scene and rose to the rank of one of the country’s top 10 racetrack.Upgrades to the racing plant included building a new paddock area and several new stables. Completing the set were an administration building and an additional grandstand.
On July 15, 1966, the greatest horse of all time, Bret Hanover, won a stake race, setting a record crowd of 12,779.
The raceway hosted the state-wide 2- and 3-year New York-bred horse races known as the New York Sires Stakes for the first time in 1961. The current racing schedule still includes this stake series.
Early in the 1960s, Dunnigan made a significant investment in a brand-new harness track in Phoenix, Arizona. He had to give Buffalo Raceway to new owners after this endeavor failed, and the Sportservice Corporation started to maintain an interest in racing there in 1966. Buffalo started winter racing in December 1971 thanks to a new stone dust racing surface. At that time, a brand-new clubhouse was inaugurated, and the original grandstand was enclosed with glass to provide patron comfort in cold weather. On July 8, 1972, an all-star racing card set a record for racetrack mutuel handling ($602,821), with a Reynolds Stake victory by Albatross in 1:57 4/5. In New York State, off-track betting started to take off in the 1970s. By permitting betting at stores near racetracks, Off Track Betting (OTB) contributed to the development of a fresh source of mutuel handle, but it also heralded a downturn in on-track handle and attendance.
Raceway management has made an effort over the last 20 years to stay abreast of both evolving betting patterns and national trends in racing. Buffalo Raceway began experimenting with simulcast racing in the mid-1980s, and it currently provides full card thoroughbred simulcasts in addition to full card simulcast racing from major harness tracks. Buffalo Raceway further broadcasts a simulcast signal that enables bettors nationwide to place bets on our own live racing.
Management also knew that maintaining our facility to the highest standards was necessary to guarantee the caliber of our own racing. Faster and safer races have resulted from the construction of multiple new barns and repairs to the racing strip, including the banking of the entire track and modifications to the turn curves. There is now a passing lane with Pylons in lieu of the wooden hub rail.
The Erie County Agricultural Society acquired Buffalo Raceway from Sportservice Corporation in 1990. In an effort to maintain the racecourse as a top-notch harness facility and significant economic driver for the Western New York region, the society has stepped up its efforts.
To great reviews, Fairgrounds Gaming opened its doors in March 2004. Customers got additional chances to win thanks to the more than 900 Video Gaming Machines (VGM). The VGMs set aside a percentage of every dollar for purses and educational purposes.
Improvements for the 2010 racing season cost more than $250,000. October saw the resurfacing of the half-mile track using more than 600 tons of material. New paint, carpet, and flat-screen TVs were among the many upgrades made to the Clubhouse.
In August 2010, Hamburg Casino replaced Fairgrounds Gaming, which had relocated to a brand-new, ultramodern facility. For the 2011 season, the original tote board underwent a refurbishment with LED digits. The construction of three additional horse barns completed the second phase of backstretch upgrades prior to 2012. Launched for the 2012 season, Raceway Player Rewards offered gamblers a 2% return on their wagers.
In time for the 2013 season, two more barns and asphalt surrounding the barn area completed the backstretch. 2013 also saw improvements to the enclosed grandstand and the installation of a cutting edge video system by International Sound Corporation.
Too many names to list from Buffalo Raceway’s more than 60-year history. Here, approximately 4,000 trainers and drivers have participated with an estimated thirty thousand horses. Over the years, the less well-known horses and riders have also played a crucial role in our racing, even if some of these horses, trainers, and drivers gained notoriety among raceway enthusiasts. It has taken a team of backstretch workers, including grooms, blacksmiths, vets, feedmen, harness shop owners, track crews, builders, electricians, plumbers, and manure removal crews, to put on racing events year after year. Without the judges and starters who have been at the racetrack under the sponsorship of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, the show would not be able to continue.
In order to “put on the show” each race day, Buffalo Raceway itself employs thousands of workers in areas such administration, racing office, publicity, programming, security, parking, food service, andmutuels; totalizator, T.V., sound, and cleaning. Of course, the most significant things are the devoted followers of Buffalo Raceway who have been there since 1942, as well as a new generation of fans who will be thrilled and amused for many years to come.
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