The Washington DC neighbourhood of Ivy City is located in the north-east of the capital and boasts a rich history. In the latter part of the 19th century the neighbourhood benefitted from its own racecourse which first opened in 1879, with racing administered by the National Fair Grounds Association which was only incorporated in 1878. On 30th August 1879 two large areas of land on the outskirts of Ivy City were purchased from Charles Stewart and Mrs Louis Fethervitch with the express purpose of developing a racecourse for the benefit of the local people. By 28th October 1879 the National Fair Grounds opened for business in front of a crowd almost reaching 15,000. The venue became firmly established as one of the premier horse racing tracks in the District of Columbia, hosting quality races and training purposes on and off for 22 years. Over that time bankruptcy threatened, the track was sold and closed for a while; gambling laws changed for the worse in March 1891 as far as the track were concerned; the main Clubhouse was gutted by fire in February 1893. Once racing ceased the site was used for training purposes until 1901. |
