PENTWATER DRIVING PARK ASSOCIATION
Pentwater Driving Park (The Racetrack)
Between 1872 and 1874, the newly-formed Pentwater Driving Association completed a racetrack for trotters on the outskirts of the village. The popularity of horse-racing had resulted in the formation “driving park associations” across the country, including several busy tracks in Traverse City, Kalamazoo, and other Michigan cities. As the plans took shape, the Pentwater News reported on June 21, 1872, “The Driving Park is most beautifully situated. From the judges’ stand a fine view of our village can be obtained and Lake Michigan is also in sight.” Sources describe the judge’s stand as three stories high with the first floor for the drivers, the second level for the judges, and the third story was for reporters and special guests. The track itself was two straight parallel sides 600 feet long and 452.5 feet apart with a semi-circle at each end with a radius of 226.25 feet. The inaugural races were scheduled on October 21-22, 1872. One local horse was “Ottawa Chief and other horses came from Manistee, Ludington, Grand Rapids, Chelsea, Jackson, Kalamazoo and brought in more revenue than expected. At least one native American raced there. In the early days, purses ranged from $100 to $300 and events included the “Running Race,” “Free for All,” and “Free Race.”
A Pentwater Driving Park Association share issued at $25. survived issued to businessmen Sands & Maxwell. Local racetrack investors also included lumberman F.O. Gardner, Judge W.E. Ambler, a partner in the first Pentwater Bank, and lumberman Samuel A. Browne, Village President. Browne raced at the Park and was famous nationwide for his 12-acre Golden Stock Farm and the Kalamazoo Stock Farm opened with investor U. S. Senator Francis Stockbridge. Browne’s horses included the famous Lady Turpin and Grand Sentinel.
By 1878, known breeders from outside Oceana County, brought their horses to complete. Racetrack activity may have waned for a number of years in the 1880s, but the Pentwater News noted that in 1887, with the growth of village population and wealth, horse trainers were again spotted at the track. These included John Splan Jr. “of the flowing mustache and cowboy grace” with his $10,000 trotter, F.O. Gardner with his $5,000 pacer imported from the south and a horse named Klingbell Whitecloud, and W. B. O. Sand’s “Dennis, lately used for a carriage horse.”
In 1893, July 4th festivities included afternoon races at the driving park featuring some of Michigan’s fastest horses. The races concluded with a big parade and the Pentwater News editor concluded that “Every race was honest and everybody was pleased.”Pentwater Driving Park advertisements as late as 1904 named horses Simulator, Oman, and Newton, among others and well attended events on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
The location of the racetrack is located noted on early maps and a U.S. Geological Survey Satellite image taken in 1999 still revealed the track’s outline.
Sources: “Early Horseracing in Oceana County Part One,” Various news clippings, maps, and biographical entries in a notebook compiled by the Oceana County Historical Society. Pentwater News, 6/21/1872.“Reminiscences of Pentwater” by Leonore P. Williams, Ludington Daily News 7/1/1949. Information regarding the track’s location provided by Ron Beeber. Early Oceana County Atlases.