WHERE RACING HISTORY Comes to Life

WRITTEN BY EDWARD L. BOWEN PHOTO BY BRIEN BOUYEA (UNLESS NOTED)

Led by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, a group of people prominent within the sport of thoroughbred racing founded the National Museum of Racing in 1950. The Museum’s location of Saratoga Springs, New York, home of the oldest thoroughbred racetrack in America, proved to be an ideal setting. On Aug. 6, 1951, amid a great deal of fanfare, the Museum made its public debut in a temporary location at the Canfield Casino in Congress Park.

“The long-range purpose,” Whitney said at the opening in the famous old casino, originally opened by Saratoga racing founder John Morrissey in 1870, “is to build a permanent home for the important memorabilia for the sport whose beginnings in this country antedate by 100 years or more the United States of America.”

The first gift for the Museum project was $5,000 from the Saratoga Association, which owned and operated Saratoga Race Course. Harold O. Vosburgh, a steward for the Saratoga Association, donated the first piece of memorabilia, a shoe from the legendary horse Lexington.

The Museum has evolved with the times while staying true to its core concepts — preserving and promoting the history of thoroughbred racing in America and honoring its most accomplished participants with induction into the Hall of Fame. A major project was completed in 2020, when a dynamic new Hall of Fame and Race Day Gallery opened to the public. The new Hall of Fame includes the immersive signature film “What It Takes: Journey to the Hall of Fame,” which is narrated by iconic broadcaster Bob Costas.

“The new Hall of Fame experience, which we will continually update, is a true game-changer for the Museum. Our sport deserves the best and I believe we now have the greatest sports Hall of Fame in the country,” said John Hendrickson, the Museum’s chairman. After a few years in Congress Park, the Museum moved to a newly constructed facility at 191 Union Avenue, directly across the street from the historic track, in 1955. The Museum now occupies a sprawling building with some 45,000 square feet of space.