Hialeah Park Horse Racing Track in Florida

Hialeah Park Horse Racing Track in Florida

The one of the oldest and widest continuously operating turf horseracing track in the country, development on Hialeah Park commenced in 1921 in Southern Florida near the city of Hialeah. The track and recreational facility was originally built to attract the rich and famous and has earned a reputation as contributing to the State’s emergence as a popular winter resort.

The racetrack started life as part of a major enterprise wherein massive amounts of land were acquered and public buildings and facilities were built. These facilities included a greyhound parimutuel track and later a horseracing track. The horseracing track was initially furnished with a grandstand, a clubhouse, an administrative building, just over twenty stables and a paddock area. The entertainment complex also featured an amusement park complete with a roller coaster, a dance hall, a jai-alai fronton and a number of dog kennels. It soon became a popular place for the people of South Florida to congregate together for weekend activities and before long it has begun to draw large crowds. Unfortunately, much of this came to a dramatic end in 1926 when a massive hurricane swept across the area completely destroying the jai-alai fronton, the dog kennels and the roller coaster. Facing such massive destruction and the financial costs involved in trying to rebuild these facilities, the track owners decided instead to focus on horseracing.

In 1930 the racetrack came under new ownership and it underwent major renovations. The wooden grandstand and clubhouse was replaced with concrete and steel buildings and the stables, paddock area, walking rink and infield turf track were remodelled and improved. Hundreds of royal palms and coconut trees were planted and a lake was even fashioned in the track infield. The lake was populated with large numbers of pink flamingos imported from Cuba and the colony still populates this area today. In fact, the area has been declared a sanctuary for the American Flamingo in more recent years. All this work gave the entire facility a much-needed face-lift which resulted in a number of the rich and famous of the time attending races here.

Hialeah Park has long been the largest industry of the city of Hialeah and its establishment in this warm part of the country has resulted in it becoming the capital of winter racing. Its status as the most beautiful racecourse in the US did much to contribute to South Florida’s reputation as a tourist destination. The racetrack regularly hosted a number of prestigious events and many a jockey and horses career was spawned on the Hialeah Park racetrack. In 1988 Hialeah Park became eligible to become a National Historic Landmark and in 2001 the park was officially closed to the public.