Hialeah Park Race Track

The featured photographs, dating from the late 1920s through the first half of the 20th century, showcase some of Hialeah Park’s enduring icons.

Hialeah Park opened on January 15, 1925. In addition to its one-mile dirt track, clubhouse, and 21 stables, the facility also boasted a dance hall and roller coaster. In the early 1930s, Hialeah opened its first turf course and installed the country’s first totalizator system. Hialeah’s signature flamingos were first brought to the park’s infield lake in 1934, and its recognizable palm trees numbered over 10,000 by the mid-1940s.

From Seabiscuit and Forego to Seattle Slew and Northern Dancer, from Eddie Arcaro to Bill Hartack, and from Woody Stephens to D. Wayne Lukas, Hialeah has hosted many of the industry’s greats. It has drawn hundreds of thousands of spectators from its opening over 90 years ago, including Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and a host of celebrities.

Cook 2116 - 1937-02-27 Jockeys and young people on a fence at the Hialeah small.jpg

Jockeys on a Fence at Hialeah

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Triangle - 1942-01-09 Hialeah Park - schooling 2 year olds at gate 1.jpg

Two-Year-Olds at Hialeah Gate

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Source:

City of Hialeah, Florida. (2016). “Hialeah Park Race Track.” Retrieved on October 11, 2016, from http://www.hialeahfl.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=211&lang=en