Home of the Flying Turns !
Northfield Park Fair LogoNorthfield Park is located in Northfield, Ohio twenty miles south of Cleveland. It is a half mile oval with a capacity of 16,000. The facility is glass enclosed with seating for 4,300 in the grandstand and 1,500 in the clubhouse. There is parking for 6,000 cars and the stables can accommodate over 800 horse. The track provides year round racing as well as simulcasting. In 2013 the Hard Rock Casino was opened adjacent to the track.
Northfield Park has been a quality standardbred venue since 1957 but the origins date back to the nineteen thirties. The original site was planned for dog racing, when that effort failed it was converted to auto racing. Interest in the auto track waned in the early fifties and the original grandstand was razed and Northfield Park erected on the site. Northfield was originally part of a circuit that included nearby tracks, Painesville, and Grandview, which have both gone out of business.
First Year AdTouted as the "Home of the Flying Turns" because of it's unique track configuration Northfield has continued to promote quality racing without the aide of casino wagering. Since 1986 the tracks premiere event "The Battle of Lake Erie" has attracted the top horses and drivers to the Southeast Ohio oval.
In 2011 major changes were underway as casino gambling was legalized in Ohio. Unlike other states these are free standing casinos not racinos connected to Ohio racetracks. It's unclear whether slots will be allowed at the tracks? Only time will tell if racing will survive in Ohio. On the other hand Northfield Park ran it's usual year round schedule. Driver Dan Noble not only was the top driver at Northfield Park, he was the winningest harness driver in the country. Racing is scheduled to resume in 2012.
In 2013 Northfield received some good news, it would finally receive racino status, plus it would maintain it's current location unlike other Ohio Tracks that were relocated. In December the Hard Rock Casino opened at Northfield Park. Not like other states where slot machines and gaming are limited to race track sites, Ohio also legalized stand alone casinos. One of those is in Cleveland, so that puts that venue, the racino at Thistledown's and the one at Northfield Park in close proximity to each other. Probably not what horseman wanted, but better than nothing.
On my only visit to Northfield Park, I arrived early to find out there was a free sweatshirt giveaway that evening. Being one of the first people in the track I was one of the lucky 2,000 or so to receive one. Well, things didn't work out to good, they obviously had been through this a time or two and were smart enough to wait till the eight race to pass them out. As I was only passing through, I couldn't stay that long, who knows, maybe the person I handed my ticket to on the way out will read this someday!