Suffolk Meadows was a

quarter horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to . ...

racing facility on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

that operated during 1977 and 1986. The racetrack was situated on a parcel located in Yaphank northwest of the William Floyd Parkway interchange on the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

. The racetrack first opened in 1977 as Parr Meadows and closed following a 113-day meet after the bank defaulted on loans. Although the track was not built by developer Ron Parr, the Parr Organization assumed ownership after the original builder ran out of funds. In May 1986, horse racing briefly returned to Suffolk Meadows for an 86-day stint. The racetrack ceased operations on October 18, 1986. On September 7, 1979, 18,000 attendees gathered at Parr Meadows for a ten-hour concert featuring a number of the original performers from the

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. Musical artists attending the tenth year reunion concert included

Blondie Chaplin Terrence William "Blondie" Chaplin (born 7 July 1951) is a South African singer and guitarist from Durban, where he played in the band the Flames in the mid to late 1960s. From 1972 to 1973, he was a member of the Beach Boys and contributed ...

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Leslie West Leslie Abel West (born Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. West was named the 245th greatest guit ...

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Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and bandleader. After early training as a Western concert flute, classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored ...

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

and

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band ...

. Many of the concertgoers arrived the day before, parking along William Floyd Parkway and camping out in the woods. Suffolk Meadows has also been the site of competitions for the International Professional Rodeo Association and the Suffolk County Fair. In 1997, developer Wilbur Breslin planned to develop the adjacent property into a regional shopping mall called Brookhaven Town Center. The former racetrack site has also been discussed as a potential location of a casino for the

Shinnecock Indian Nation The Shinnecock Indian Nation is a federally recognized tribe of historically Algonquian peoples, Algonquian-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans based at the eastern end of Long Island, New York. This tribe is headq ...

. In 2008,

Sysco Sysco is an American multinational corporation that sells, markets, and distributes food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, sports stadiums, and other venues that serve food. It also sells foodservice supplies and ...

filed plans to construct a regional headquarters on the site, but later abandoned the project. The site was ultimately redeveloped with apartments, townhouses and condominiums, an assisted living facility, a

Home2 Suites by Hilton Home2 Suites by Hilton is an American all-suite extended-stay hotel featuring contemporary accommodations and customizable guest room design. It competes with TownePlace Suites by Marriott and InterContinental Hotels Group's Candlewood Suite ...

extended-stay hotel, and retail stores anchored by a

Walmart Supercenter Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

References

External links

Suffolk Meadows at LI Oddities
{{Coord, 40, 50, 37, N, 72, 54, 13, W , display=title Brookhaven, New York Defunct horse racing venues in New York (state) 1977 establishments in New York (state) Sports venues in Long Island 1986 disestablishments in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1977 Sports venues in Suffolk County, New York