Jerome Park Racetrack was an Americanthoroughbred horse racing facility from 1866 until 1894. It was located in a part ofWestchester County, New York that was annexed intothe city of New York in 1874. Jerome Park Racetrack was the first home of theBelmont Stakes, holding the event from1867 until 1889. Today, Jerome Park is the name of a neighborhood adjoining theJerome Park Reservoir,Bedford Park andNorwood in the northern Bronx.
The racetrack opened in 1866 in the northwest part ofFordham,Westchester County (now inthe Bronx),New York. Built on the old Bathgate estate, and operated by the American Jockey Club, its owner/members were led by financierLeonard W. Jerome andAugust Belmont, Sr. A luxurious clubhouse was built near a rise that looked over the race course on what was known as "The Bluff".
In those days, many would come to the racing park by horse, coach and carriage, or by railroad atFordham Station, located at the bottom of Fordham Hill and Rose Hill inOld Fordham Village. Later in the century, it would connect toBedford Park Station.
The firstBelmont Stakes, the oldest of the threeU.S. Triple Crown races which was named in honor ofAugust Belmont, Sr., was held at Jerome Park Racetrack and continued to be run there until 1890 when it was moved to nearbyMorris Park Racecourse. Jerome Park Racetrack was also the home to theChampagne Stakes from its inaugural running in 1867 through 1889 and theLadies Handicap, created in 1868 and which today is run atAqueduct Racetrack inQueens and is the oldeststakes race in the United States exclusively forfillies andmares.
In the spring of 1876, a group of polo enthusiasts founded theWestchester Polo Club at Jerome Park Racetrack. On May 13 of that year, the track was the site of the first outdoorpolo match ever held in the United States.[1][2]
It is alleged thatLord Randolph Churchill first met Jerome's daughter,Jennie Jerome, later to be courted and married, at the race park, but this allegation is false. As attested by Sir Winston Churchill in his biography of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill was never in America before his marriage, and the couple actually met in August 1873 at a ball on board the Imperial Russian cruiser "Ariadne" while it was moored atCowes on theIsle of Wight.[3]
The track closed on October 4, 1894 to make way for theJerome Park Reservoir that was needed for the metropolitanNew York City water supply system.[4][5]
The land that formed the western half of the Jerome Park Racetrack was turned into theJerome Park Reservoir. The eastern half of the land was later used for:
During the 1920s, the eastern half of the land was considered as a possible site for theMuseum of the Peaceful Arts.
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40°52′42″N73°53′43″W / 40.87833°N 73.89528°W /40.87833; -73.89528