Fact-checking, and K-Mart

Last Saturday was the 32nd running of the Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing, and it was a treat to see Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott win the nine furlong test with a talented 3-year-old named To Honor and Serve.

But as I gazed out at the people ringing the winner's circle, all hoping to catch a T-shirt tossed by the track's costumed mascot, Parx the Horse, I was struck by how the race has been changed from a Labor Day extravaganza with huge crowds that would jam the grandstand, Picnic Grove, and track apron to a condensed group of diehards content to see some good 3-year-olds on a Saturday afternoon in late September.  Although I never liked navigating through and around those large throngs - which often numbered more than 25,000 in the race's late 1980's heyday - I actually feel saddened at how the sport has dropped out of the public's consciousness, except at select venues like Saratoga, Del Mar, and other seasonal meets.

This year, to spice up the Pennsylvania Derby card, someone came up with the idea of creating a Parx Racing Hall of Fame, and the first class of inductees were honored in the winner's circle between races. "Special Achievement" honoree Robert W. Green, who bought the track in 1990 under the Greenwood Racing banner from Robert Brennan's International Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc., was credited with "creating telephone (and internet) wagering applications," which got me thinking how factually correct this statement was.

Sure enough, my memory served me correctly. I pulled out an old Philadelphia Park media guide from 1990 and it stated that, "... in 1985, ITB received national recognition with the advent of its Phonebet system of wagering. Phonebet is a program in which patrons unable to make it to the track can still participate by wagering legally by telephone on the races."

Greenwood may have expanded the Phonebet system after the track's purchase, but it did not create it. Guess it was just a little factual embellishment for the Hall of Fame inductions.

Speaking of Parx Racing, did you know it actually had three previous names? Originally the track was to be christened Neshaminy Race Track, but prior to its official opening on November 4, 1974 it was changed to Keystone.  In the summer of 1985, it was changed again, to Philadelphia Park, and then was slapped with the Parx moniker last year.

Here's a couple of old photos from the media guide - the first shows that there actually were fountains in the infield lake at one time, while the second shows the Keystone grandstand's distinctive "K" on its back wall.  Many oldtimers, in fact, nicknamed the track "K-Mart."

Yes, there really were infield fountains, folks. Check out the crowd in the background.

A long line of cars in the parking lot of "K-Mart." Circa 1976.