Ben White Raceway Papers, 1946-1978
Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Ben White Raceway
- Abstract:
- Ben White Raceway located on a 120- acre tract in Fairview Park, near downtown Orlando, Florida, was the largest training facility and winter home for champion racehorses. The track was named in honor of one of the nation's most famous trainers, Ben White, who won numerous titles and chose Orlando as a training site in 1920. The track lost popularity as the expense to ship horses to Orlando became too great. In July 2001, the name was changed to Trotters Park. In January 10, 2002, the City of Orlando decided to close the struggling facility to convert the property into a city park.
- Extent:
- 0.50 Linear Feet 1 Box
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
Ben White Raceway Papers, 1946-1978, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
Background
- Scope and content:
The Ben White Raceway Papers include historical background, correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and directories of the many champion horses that trained at the facility throughout its 30 year existence.
- Biographical / historical:
Ben White Raceway was the largest training facility and winter home for champion racehorses. Located in Fairview Park, a 120-acre tract about 3 miles from downtown Orlando, the raceway was owned and maintained by the City of Orlando. The track was named in honor of one of the nation's most famous trainers, Ben White, who won numerous titles and chose Orlando as a training site in 1920. As a result of White's international reputation, the track became known as "the colt capital of harness racing".
Ben White Raceway, however, lost popularity as it proved to be too expensive to ship horses to Orlando. In July 2001, the name was changed to Trotters Park at the request of Ben White's family because the track no longer had anything to do with harness racing. By January 10, 2002, the City of Orlando decided to close the already struggling facility and use the property for a city park.
- Acquisition information:
- The collection was donated to the University of Central Florida Libraries during or after 1978 (CFM1978_01).
- Processing information:
Collection processed by Nadine Helm; finding aid prepared by Nadine Helm. Material is housed in one box and separated into folders by content. Directories, minutes and programs are then arranged in chronological order.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Harness racing
- Places:
- Orlando (Fla.)
Orange County (Fla.)
Access and use
- Restrictions:
The entire collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
Unpublished records are protected by copyright. Permission to publish quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
- Preferred citation:
Ben White Raceway Papers, 1946-1978, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, Orlando, Florida.
- Location of this collection:
-
John C. Hitt Library12701 Pegasus Drive, Building 2OrlandoFL32816-8030USA
