The racecourse of Beulah Park could be found at Grove City, in the state of Ohio, some 7 miles from the town of Columbus and first operated as a thoroughbred racetrack on 21st April 1923. Initially it was an 8 furlong oval dirt track, although after extensive improvements in 1956 it became the premier track in Ohio. Over an 18 year period it suffered 3 catastrophic fires, one every nine years, starting on 13th April 1942 when 11 horses perished; struck again on 28th April 1951 when 25 horses died, and again on 27th April 1960 when a further 10 horses perished. In May 1983 the track was bought by George Gaulding who immediately renamed it Darby Downs, but within 2 years he had sold it on to a developer Charles Ruma who reverted to Beulah Park. Towards the end of its days the 8 furlong dirt course was supplemented with an inner 6 furlong turf course, and separate 6 furlong and 10 furlong chutes, each sharing a 340 metre home straight. The feature races were the Scarlet and Gray Handicap, the Glacial Princess Stakes, the Ohio Freshman Stakes and the Bobbie Bricker Memorial Handicap. At one time it had good facilities, which included a grandstand with the capacity to accommodate 6,000, and a Clubhouse which could seat 1,000 people. Gradually its appeal declined and in 2010 Ruma sold the track to Penn National Gaming who ran it for four years before it closed for the final time on 3rd May 2014, with facilities a shadow of their former self. |
