Birmingham (AL) Turf Club
 

Over the past few weeks, I've learned that there are a lot of SEC fans that hang out in the DT Forum. Thought I would start a thread about a SEC topic other than football.

I know of the dog tracks that have operated around the state but not sure of the history horse racing in the state. I know something was going on outside of Birmingham about 20 years ago but don't know much about it. Not before my time but before my interest in the sport.

Does anyone here remember this and/or have any stories to share?

Larry Collmus was the track announcer, and Lost Code won the first Alabama Derby. I believe it was 1987. The place didn't last long. You had to be 21 to bet on track so I had to keep sneaking around to get bets in.

I heard somewhere that there were "opportunities abundant" for the informed horseplayer during the first few weeks after the opening. Would make sense but didn't know whether or not it was true.

You had to be 6' 2" by about age 11. Who was asking you for ID?

I've heard nice things about Birmingham's racing days. I suppose as many people recall it as do the Birmingham Bulls!

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-08-...8_1_race-track

Beyer from 1987..

Interesting sidebar inside the piece:

In a speech he recently gave in Lexington, Ky., about expansion of racing into new states, Killingsworth said that wagering has been increasing at Birmingham, but he conceded that he had made a mistake--"and nobody forgets your mistakes." Killingsworth evidently overlooked a crucial point that author Eugene Christiansen made before the American Horse Council's convention in Washington last month.

"It is impossible for a new track in a virgin market to perform as well as comparable tracks in mature markets right out of the gate," Christiansen said. "No form of gambling is as difficult to learn as horse racing. It takes time to make new horseplayers. It takes years."

That point can't be reiterated enough...

I was 19 at the time, but they did a lot of carding, especially when you cashed. It was pretty crazy. They'd let you bet, then card you if you won. I always got paid eventually. I spent two weeks there visiting. I remember meeting Dave Johnson and Chris Lincoln who were there for ESPN. Hard to believe they covered a race like the Alabama Derby back then.

The Alabama Derby was worth $350k, so that was a nice chunk of change. ESPN also covered races like the St. Paul Derby, so they weren't ignoring the second-tier 3yo stakes back then.

Birmingham attracted some pretty nice horses for its first meet. Up The Appalachee, Queen Alexandra, and Weekend Delight all ran in stakes there.

Yes, I should have said it more like "it is hard to imagine ESPN covering a race like that now". I still have painful memories of my favorite all-time horse Broad Brush losing to Cheapskate in Minnesota!

I saw the Dead in Birmingham in 95, and went to the track, but it was Dog Racing ( and simulcasting ) by then.

Lost a transmission in the parking lot and had to stay an extra two days. I believe I ended up $305 with a $760 repair bill.

The racing was basic to say the least, but it was racing.

Hi CJ, I was at Canterbury that day for the St. Paul Derby, part of a huge crowd to witness one of the greatest races ever run at the track, I believe it was 1986. Wish I could tell you that I bet on Cheapskate( dont recall, did he pay over $70 for the win) but like most in the crowd, my money was on Broad Brush. The other race at Canterbury that I put on equal footing for excitement was the 1988 Chaucer Cup when Don's Irish Melody who shipped in from California hooked up with the midwest legend Who Doctor Who and ran lapped onto to each other from start to finish to set the track record for 6 1/2 furlongd in 1:14 flat with Don's Irish Melody winning the photo by a nose.
Alas those days for Canterbury are long gone.:(

I was there on the first day the track opened for business and have been present on every opening day since then. Still a regular weekend warrior, but I do miss the caliber of racing that existed the first few years the place was open.

i can remember being there once in the late 80's. it was still nice new facility. the group i was with, was into dog racing and didn't have much interest in the horses.
i found this article in the birmingham paper from Aug. this year.
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2..._return_t.html


and i do remember the Birmingham Bulls from the early 90's.

Great info from days gone by. Thanks.

I'm only 30.... and didn't get taken to the track in my teens by my parent's until CBY re-opened in the mid-90s. I heard when it was open in the 80s there was some great racing there. But Broad Brush actually ran at Canterbury at one point!? Crazy.

Amen to that... I barely bet live racing anymore when I'm there anymore... just has really gone sour in recent years.

[quote=pmayjr;825347]I'm only 30.... and didn't get taken to the track in my teens by my parent's until CBY re-opened in the mid-90s. I heard when it was open in the 80s there was some great racing there. But Broad Brush actually ran at Canterbury at one point!? Crazy.

Peter,

My daughter is about your age and those first years that Canterbury was opened, on the weekend when my wife and I went down there we would take her and her best friend along. They became some of the best "stoopers" around picking up dozens of discarded tickets. When we got home, the next day I would look at the results in the morning paper and check them against all the tickets they collected. Virtually every time there was a ticket or two worth a few bucks and on occasion a lot more than that.:)