The Virginia State city of Alexandria, on the Potomac River, today boasts a population of almost 140,000 people, but back in the final days of the 19th century it consisted of a number of neighbourhoods, two of which were St Asaph and Del Ray. St Asaph had its own racecourse which was built towards the end of the 19th century and opened as the Gentlemens Driving Club, with its president Senator George Mushback its driving force. This name became important later on when it sought an advantage over more traditional harness race tracks prevalent at that time. Improvements were made at the track and in 1894 it became St Asaph Racetrack, but at that time the gambling laws were being closely examined. In 1896 fierce debates took place concerning gambling, although Mushback was able to get an exemption for so called ‘agricultural societies’ which included Driving Clubs. As a consequence, and along with a number of ‘sleight of hand’ procedures, gambling was allowed to continue at St Asaph. Meetings continued to be held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the track was raided in May 1904, and by 1905 it had been forced to close. The grandstand, outbuildings and judges box had been demolished by 1914 and today the site of the former racecourse is covered by residential housing.
