Chasing Horse Ghosts - telling Greyhound's story pt. 9 - Good Time Park

Post card circa 1939

August 14, 2023
Today was a pretty amazing day. I realized last week as I was looking over Greyhound’s race record that I would still be in town on this day, the 88th anniversary of his Hambletonian win. I knew Good Time Park had closed long ago, been bifurcated by an invasive road, and returned to the wild marshy land it was way back in 1926 when William H. Cane bought the land and opened the track in the first place. But I also knew that the track outline could still be seen via satellite. An idea formed in my mind ... 

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Good Time Park in 1946, courtesy of the Harness Racing Museum in Goshen, NY. The railroad is marked. This is now paved and called the Orange Heritage Trail.

Satellite image of Good Time Park today. Note the Orange Heritage Trail is where the old railroad was.

Post time for the 1935 Hambletonian was 3:00 pm. Why not go and see what I could find? Rebecca Howard from the Harness Racing Museum set me up with a 1940s-era aerial image and a satellite image and told me where I could try parking (after I promised not to trespass). The Connector Road is BUSY. But in the name of research (and adventure) I parked my truck at the gas station (lower left of the satellite photo), took my life in my hands, crossed the road, and hoofed it over to the only place I thought I could identify in present day that would tell me in no uncertain terms I was standing on the infield of the former Good Time Park harness track.
       Using the GPS on my phone to mark my location, I walked until I was standing in the same area as the line through the center of the infield that is visible in both the contemporary photos and modern day satellite images. At 3:00 on the dot, I stood on the infield of what remained of Good Time Park, faced toward the stand of trees where the grandstand had once stood, and strained my ears to hear the pounding hooves whispering under the din of traffic flying past me. The road I’d originally resented had become my access point, for the road cut across the infield, just inside turns two and three. I stood on the shoulder and gazed out over the long grasses, scrubby brush and trees stunted by the marshy ground.

       Admittedly it wasn’t easy to picture the track as it looked back then. But I was there and listened for the horses. The roar of the traffic faded and the sound of pounding hooves filled my mind. I heard them coming down the back stretch, they whizzed around the far turn and stepped over the track behind me. I turned and spied a flat stretch in the grassy field, I could just see the outline of where the track had once been. 
       I continued my walk, wondering if there was more I could see. Using my GPS, I found the approximate area of the homestretch.

       One thing I search for when doing this type of research (looking for traces of something that no longer exists) is old trees. The older the tree, the more likely it is to have been there when whatever I am looking for existed. There are young trees in the old images but I couldn't find them on the infield. Knowing that the park was reclaimed marsh land and had since returned to marsh land, it is likely those young infield trees died long ago from oversaturation. I turned and looked behind me, across the road to where the stretch of track between turns two and three had been. There were older trees over there. Not sure they were old enough, still I decided I'd go take a look. 

Could this tree be old enough? I'm no tree expert but I think if this tree was there 90 years ago, it'd have a wider trunk. Still, I'm going to take a closer look.

I crossed Connector Rd. and inspected the tree. I'm just not sure. Maybe it was there, maybe not. But I found something even more interesting. It seems there was a dirt "road" of some sort here, it curved around and disappeared, but I could see the land was flatter there. Could that be the stretch between turns two and three? I went to take a closer look. Using my GPS I determined that this could perhaps be part of the track, or at least where it once was.

       OK. Full disclosure. When I crossed the road to see the tree, I looked for "No Trespassing" signs and saw none. But when I cut across the field to cross the road again, I saw one laying in the grass. Oops. 

I saw this on the north side of Connector Road on the way back. This is on the infield that I couldn't access without trespassing so this is the best picture I could get. Perhaps it was there to mark the road before it was built?

       Later, I walked along the Orange Heritage Trail. The trains long ago silenced, slick black asphalt has taken the place of rails and ties. The trail runs along the eastern side of the old track, there is a historical marker there, but that is all. I imagine the old railroad line transported horses to and from the track. Certainly Greyhound would have taken the train after winning the Hambletonian as he headed to Springfield, Illinois for his next start. The trail veered away from the old race track, providing even poorer viewing than what I saw from the road. Still, as the people walked and biked the trail I wondered if they knew or even cared. I wanted to stop them and ask, do you know? Do you know what happened 88 years ago right here?
       Did they know that 88 years ago the grandstand stood just beyond the fence? Could they feel the thousands of people cheering in excitement as the greatest trotter that ever lived flew under the wire on silver wings? Did they know? Would they care?

        I decided to keep it to myself. I took a deep breath and gazed at the stand of trees where the grandstand once stood. I wondered if there was any trace of it left. I am so tempted to try and see, but I respect the intent of the fencing (even if there is a large hole cut in it). The land has returned to its natural state, and trespassing, no matter how tempting, is disrespectful. I sigh deeply, and continue my walk, content in the knowledge that I know what happened there, and in time, with the release of my book, so will anyone else who cares to pick it up and read of the great Greyhound.

Next post: last day at the Harness Racing Museum--Getting closer to Greyhound than I have ever been!

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Note: there are pictures on the internet that show images taken from the infield of decaying wood structures from the old track. To my knowledge, these have been removed in the interest of safety and prevention of trespassing.

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