The Michigan city of Jackson, the county seat of Jackson County, lies about 40 miles west of Ann Arbor and 35 miles south of Lansing, boasting a population of about 34,000. The city was founded in 1829 and is named after President Andrew Jackson. It holds an annual Fair at Jackson Fairgrounds, which was also the location of the Jackson Raceway. The 5 furlong oval racetrack with 183 metre home straight, complete with a grandstand with the capacity to hold 6500 people, first started Standardbred harness racing on 28th May 1948. Its main fayre was summer racing, and a feature of the track was the Sulky Lounge where diners could enjoy a meal while watching racing. It had sound claims to be the first pari-mutuel in Michigan State. Whilst racing prospered through the 1950 to 1980 period, the track took a downturn thereafter and looked likely to close before the dawn of the new millennium. However, rumours abounded that the state would relax its casino gambling law, suggesting that small tracks like Jackson could reap the benefit. However, this was not to be and the track closed its doors for the final time on 7th December 2008. |
