Maywood Park Horse Racing Track in Illinois
If you are looking for great harness racing in Illinois, Maywood Park is hard to beat. This superb half-mile raceway is utilized almost all year round which means that you will be able to enjoy plenty of exciting racing. The year’s racing is only punctuated by a number of short breaks and, when the live action takes a break, simulcast wagering takes over. The track offers 364 days of great simulcast coverage.
Maywood Park started life as the home of the Cook County Fairgrounds where a number of non-wagering harness races were held between 1932 and 1934. At the time the Maywood Park real estate was owned and operated by Arthur T. Galt who was a real estate developer and an amateur sulky driver. He built the first racetrack around 1946 after receiving the first harness racing license in Illinois. Mr Galt was fortunate enough to live until he was 93 years old – long enough to see his track become one of the top half-mile standardbred racetracks in the country. Today Maywood has the distinction of being the only racetrack used exclusively for standardbred racing. It also has the record for the longest running standardbred harness race meeting in Illinois.
Maywood Park is located roughly seventeen miles from the Chicago Loop. It is 77 ft wide on the long stretches and the homestretch is roughly 594 ft in length. There is enough seating in the grandstand for 10,847 spectators as well as place for 6,000 patrons in the clubhouse. The Saddle & Sulky Room ½ Mile Bar & Grill offers casual dining options while the Winner’s Circle Dining Room offers a more refined atmosphere. For those looking for a quick bite, there are plenty of fast food stands available. Maywood Park currently hosts a number of special harness racing stakes such as the Taurus Bomber Stake, the Spring Championship, Cook County Pace, the ISOBA Stake, the Fox Valley Redhot Series Final, the Big Dog Final and the Newcomers Series Final.
