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#1
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![]() Over the past few weeks, I've learned that there are a lot of SEC fans that hang out in the DT Forum. Thought I would start a thread about a SEC topic other than football.
I know of the dog tracks that have operated around the state but not sure of the history horse racing in the state. I know something was going on outside of Birmingham about 20 years ago but don't know much about it. Not before my time but before my interest in the sport. Does anyone here remember this and/or have any stories to share?
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"God have mercy on the man who doubts what he's sure of." - Bruce Springsteen |
#2
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#3
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![]() I heard somewhere that there were "opportunities abundant" for the informed horseplayer during the first few weeks after the opening. Would make sense but didn't know whether or not it was true.
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"God have mercy on the man who doubts what he's sure of." - Bruce Springsteen |
#4
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I've heard nice things about Birmingham's racing days. I suppose as many people recall it as do the Birmingham Bulls! ![]() ![]()
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans |
#5
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![]() http://articles.latimes.com/1987-08-...8_1_race-track
Beyer from 1987.. Interesting sidebar inside the piece: In a speech he recently gave in Lexington, Ky., about expansion of racing into new states, Killingsworth said that wagering has been increasing at Birmingham, but he conceded that he had made a mistake--"and nobody forgets your mistakes." Killingsworth evidently overlooked a crucial point that author Eugene Christiansen made before the American Horse Council's convention in Washington last month. "It is impossible for a new track in a virgin market to perform as well as comparable tracks in mature markets right out of the gate," Christiansen said. "No form of gambling is as difficult to learn as horse racing. It takes time to make new horseplayers. It takes years." That point can't be reiterated enough...
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans |
#6
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![]() I was 19 at the time, but they did a lot of carding, especially when you cashed. It was pretty crazy. They'd let you bet, then card you if you won. I always got paid eventually. I spent two weeks there visiting. I remember meeting Dave Johnson and Chris Lincoln who were there for ESPN. Hard to believe they covered a race like the Alabama Derby back then.
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#7
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Birmingham attracted some pretty nice horses for its first meet. Up The Appalachee, Queen Alexandra, and Weekend Delight all ran in stakes there.
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Still trying to outsmart me, aren't you, mule-skinner? You want me to think that you don't want me to go down there, but the subtle truth is you really don't want me to go down there! |
#8
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![]() Yes, I should have said it more like "it is hard to imagine ESPN covering a race like that now". I still have painful memories of my favorite all-time horse Broad Brush losing to Cheapskate in Minnesota!
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#9
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![]() I saw the Dead in Birmingham in 95, and went to the track, but it was Dog Racing ( and simulcasting ) by then.
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Just more nebulous nonsense from BBB |
#10
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![]() Lost a transmission in the parking lot and had to stay an extra two days. I believe I ended up $305 with a $760 repair bill.
The racing was basic to say the least, but it was racing.
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Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. |
#11
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Alas those days for Canterbury are long gone. ![]() |
#12
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![]() I was there on the first day the track opened for business and have been present on every opening day since then. Still a regular weekend warrior, but I do miss the caliber of racing that existed the first few years the place was open.
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#13
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![]() i can remember being there once in the late 80's. it was still nice new facility. the group i was with, was into dog racing and didn't have much interest in the horses.
i found this article in the birmingham paper from Aug. this year. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2..._return_t.html and i do remember the Birmingham Bulls from the early 90's.
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"Always keep your heads up and act like champions." Coach Paul Bryant |
#14
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![]() Great info from days gone by. Thanks.
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"God have mercy on the man who doubts what he's sure of." - Bruce Springsteen |
#15
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Amen to that... I barely bet live racing anymore when I'm there anymore... just has really gone sour in recent years.
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Facebook- Peter May Jr. Twitter- @pmayjr You wouldn't be ballin' if your name was Spauldin' If y'all fresh to death, then I'm deceased... |
#16
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![]() [quote=pmayjr;825347]I'm only 30.... and didn't get taken to the track in my teens by my parent's until CBY re-opened in the mid-90s. I heard when it was open in the 80s there was some great racing there. But Broad Brush actually ran at Canterbury at one point!? Crazy.
Peter, My daughter is about your age and those first years that Canterbury was opened, on the weekend when my wife and I went down there we would take her and her best friend along. They became some of the best "stoopers" around picking up dozens of discarded tickets. When we got home, the next day I would look at the results in the morning paper and check them against all the tickets they collected. Virtually every time there was a ticket or two worth a few bucks and on occasion a lot more than that. ![]() |