Suffolk Meadows was aquarter horse racing facility onLong Island that operated during 1977 and 1986. The racetrack was situated on a 65-acre (0.26 km2) parcel located inYaphank northwest of theWilliam Floyd Parkway interchange on theLong Island Expressway.
The racetrack first opened in 1977 asParr Meadows and closed following a 113-day meet after the bank defaulted on loans. Although the track was not built by developer Ron Parr, the Parr Organization assumed ownership after the original builder ran out of funds.[1][2][3] In May 1986, horse racing briefly returned to Suffolk Meadows for an 86-day stint. The racetrack ceased operations on October 18, 1986.[4]
On September 7, 1979, 18,000 attendees gathered at Parr Meadows for a ten-hour concert featuring a number of the original performers from theWoodstock Festival. Musical artists attending the tenth year reunion concert includedBlondie Chaplin,Canned Heat,Country Joe McDonald,John Sebastian,Leslie West,Jorma Kaukonen,Johnny Winter,Paul Butterfield,Rick Danko andStephen Stills. Many of the concertgoers arrived the day before, parking along William Floyd Parkway and camping out in the woods.[2][3]
Suffolk Meadows has also been the site of competitions for the International Professional Rodeo Association and the Suffolk County Fair.[5][6] In 1997, developerWilbur Breslin planned to develop the adjacent property into a regional shopping mall called Brookhaven Town Center.[7] The former racetrack site has also been discussed as a potential location of a casino for theShinnecock Indian Nation.[8] In 2008,Sysco filed plans to construct a regional headquarters on the site, but later abandoned the project.[3][9]
The site was ultimately redeveloped with apartments, townhouses and condominiums, an assisted living facility, aHome2 Suites by Hilton extended-stay hotel, and retail stores anchored by aWalmart Supercenter.[10][11]
40°50′37″N72°54′13″W / 40.84361°N 72.90361°W /40.84361; -72.90361