Jamaica Race Course, also called the Jamaica Racetrack, was an American

thoroughbred horse racing 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 t ...

facility operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club in

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

History

The track opened on April 27, 1903, a day which featured the inaugural running of the Excelsior Handicap. Eugene D. Wood, one of the founders and largest stockholder, served as its first president. Upon Wood's death in April 1924, Dr. Edward P. Kilroe was appointed president to replace him. The

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

is named in Eugene Wood's honor. Legendary Hall of Fame

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons James Edward "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons (July 23, 1874 – March 11, 1966) was a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Early life Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in 1874, Fitzsimmons began his career in 1885 working at a racetrack as a stable boy. Aft ...

was the first to train at Jamaica Race Course and

Native Dancer Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 – November 16, 1967), nicknamed the ''Gray Ghost'', was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in American history and was the first horse made famous through the medium of television. ...

made a winning debut here on April 19, 1952. The facility's attendance record of 64,679 was set on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, 1945. It was home to ongoing races such as the

Prioress Stakes The Prioress Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the eight-week meet at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1948 at Jamaica Racetrack, it was raced there through 1959 after wh ...

Frizette Stakes The Frizette Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old fillies raced annually at Belmont Park in October. It is currently a Grade I stakes race at a distance of one mile. The Frizette is the female counterpart of the Champag ...

Paumonok Handicap The Paumonok Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A six furlong sprint race, it was open to horses aged three years and older. The race was inaugurated in 1906 at the now defun ...

, Excelsior Handicap,

Remsen Handicap The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The one and one-eighths mile race is open to two-year-olds and currently offers a purse of ...

, Bed O' Roses Handicap, and the

Jamaica Handicap The Caesars Belmont Derby is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred race horse run over a distance of miles on the turf at Belmont Park in July. The purse for the event is US$1,000,000. The event is the first of three of ...

. In 1955, the Greater New York Association took over management of Jamaica Race Course along with

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

, and

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

and decided to undertake renovations to Aqueduct in

South Ozone Park South Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is just north of John F. Kennedy International Airport, between Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and the Van Wyck Expressway to the east. Adja ...

, the other track in the Greater Jamaica area. Jamaica took on the Big A dates during Aqueduct's four year renovation, after which it would be sold for redevelopment as a housing project. With Aqueduct slated to reopen in the fall of 1959, Jamaica ceased operations on August 1 and was torn down the following year. Today the Rochdale Village housing development occupies the former site of Jamaica Race Course. The racetrack was served by the adjacent

Locust Manor station Locust Manor is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch in the Locust Manor neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The station is located at Farmers Boulevard and Bedell Street and is 14.0 miles (22.5 km) from Penn Statio ...

on the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

Gallery

File:Jamaica Racecourse 095011 02.jpg File:Jamaica Racecourse 095011 01.jpg File:Jamaica Racecourse 095011 03.jpg File:Jamaica Racecourse 095011 04.jpg

References

{{coord, 40, 40, 40, N, 73, 46, 31, W, display=title 1903 establishments in New York City 1959 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct horse racing venues in New York City History of Queens, New York Jamaica, Queens Sports venues completed in 1903 Sports venues demolished in 1960 Sports venues in Queens, New York