Burr Oak Track

(1837-1858)

Kalamazoo’s love of horseracing blossomed shortly after the village was established. In fact, one could characterize Kalamazoo as a hotbed of horseracing, and horse breeding. In 1837, the Kalamazoo Jockey Club was formed at a meeting in the Kalamazoo House. The group of interested men focused on creating a subscription-based revenue that would offset the cost of building a track. Kalamazoo’s most well known track was the National Driving Park, organized by Sen. Charles E. Stuart, and situated in the heart of the Edison Neighborhood until it closed in the late 1880s. Before this however, Stuart and his fellow equine enthusiasts had established a track in the Vine Neighborhood in 1837. Referred to as the Burr Oak Track or the Axtell Track, it was located in the area south of Vine Street, west of Westnedge, north of Minor Street, and east of Davis Street.

For over twenty years, many famous horses from across the nation came to the Vine Neighborhood to race, including Flora Temple, the Baltimore horse who broke the mile trotting record in 1859 at the National Driving Park. The day before Temple’s race, a spectator was killed when a horse became spooked, and bolted into the crowd, crushing the man’s skull. And while racing was incredibly popular during a period before the growth of other sporting events like baseball and football, many in the religious community feared the close relationship between the sport and betting. By the turn of the twentieth century, much of the passion for equine sports had diminished. By 1873, the area once known for large, animated crowds, had been filled in with quiet, treelined streets and platted lots.

Written by Ryan Gage, Kalamazoo Public Library, July 2024