22 times • APRIL 7, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com OLD TIMER One of the major contributing factors to the early development of Woodhaven (and Ozone Park) was horse racing. It began in 1821 when the New York State Legislature legalized racing in Queens County. These “trials of speed” were allowed between the months of May and October and led to the development of not just one, but two major tracks. The first track to be built was the Union Course, a mile-long track which was laid out the very same year racing became legal and became famous the next year for the race between Eclipse and Sir Henry. The two horses, representing the North and the South respectively, ran a race that saw more than $200,000 change hands. The second track to come to life was originally periods of prosperity namely due to its willingness to try different things. One popular form of racing at Centreville was harness racing, which brought out spectators looking for something new. Looking at some of the earlier maps of the area (so old that it identifies Woodhaven, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill as still being part of John R. Pitkin’s plan for a new city named ‘East New York’) reveals that the Centreville Course sat at the intersection just south of Rockaway Boulevard, the outer rim of the course would be right behind Payless Shoes (formerly, the OTB). The course ran eastward along Rockaway, covering the ground where John Adams High School sits, all the way to Centreville Street. The area where the track once lived changed its name from Woodville to Woodhaven in 1853 and that portion of Woodhaven later became known as Ozone Park. In the 1850s, all tracks found themselves SOCIETY of Connecticut Avenue (now Woodhaven Boulevard) and what is now Rockaway Boulevard. To put it in modern perspective, if HISTORICAL you were on Cross Bay Boulevard, called the Eclipse OFF TO AND Course, likely named after the winner of that CULTURAL historic race a few years earlier. Founded in THE RACES 1825, this course soon changed its name to the Centreville Course. The two tracks were WOODHAVEN very close to one another — a short 20-minute walk separated them — and when all of the famous horses traveled to New York to race, they ended up running THE at both tracks. But the Centreville Course BY never came close to the fame or popularity of its PRESENTED neighbor to the west. One reason for this was the fact that Centreville was a bit more isolated than Union Course. There was no immediate settlement and no hotel (the famed Centreville Hotel at what is now Rockaway and Woodhaven Boulevards was not built until 1853). In contrast, there were hotels and saloons all around the grounds of the Union Course including some famous ones owned by Hiram Woodruff and John R. Snedicker. More importantly, getting to the Union Course racetrack was made easy by the Long Island Rail Road which had a stop named after the track (at what is now 80th Street and Atlantic Avenue). There were no railroad stops at the Centreville Course, meaning that not only did spectators have to walk to the track (while probably lodging right next to the Union Course), but all horses and supplies also had to be transported from the train to the track a short distance away. But the Centreville Course experienced All mailed pictures will be carefully returned upon request. under scrutiny for corruption, and the public was turning against various forms of drinking, gambling and other vices which were normally found near a race track. Although the Centreville Course had enjoyed periods of prosperity, these were far and few between and it was not wellpositioned to survive this downturn in fortunes. The Centreville Course struggled through the 1860s and during those years the land, just like Union Course, was temporarily used as an encampment for Union soldiers during the Civil War. But Centreville had one last gasp left in it and during the early 1870s the track sprang back to life after plans for a proposed railroad that would have run right through it were shelved. Instead, Centreville opened for two final seasons (in 1875 and 1876) and buoyed by the success of the nearby Centreville Hotel (operated by Robert Walker, a well-known horse trainer), it appeared that the track might stick around for a while. But on September 24, 1876, as Robert Walker was driving a horse in harness around the track, he was shot in the back of the head by two men. Walker died, the two men were never caught, and by 1878 the 60 acres that the track sat upon were sold for $16,000. The land sat empty for the next two decades, an eyesore. The Centreville Hotel fared even worse; it had fallen into disrepair and the tenants were housing live pigs and chickens inside. The residents of the area complained and the Board of Health shut down the hotel in 1895. The land where the Centreville Course sat was eventually sold to the Ozone Park Land Improvement Company in 1899 and they began carving up the property into lots and building homes. The Centreville Course faded from memory and was largely forgotten. Today, apart from Centreville Street, there’s nothing to indicate that a popular racetrack once sat there. Next month, we’ll look at the Union Course Race Track and its interesting history, and we’ll point out two of the last remaining signs of the track that still exist in Woodhaven. (Part 1) The corner of Cross Bay Boulevard and Liberty Aenue in Ozone Park. If you have any memories and photos that you’d like to share about “Our Neighborhood: The Way it Was,” write to The Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 62-70 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood, NY 11385, or send an email to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com.
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