Racing Fever Grips the Walla Walla Fairgrounds
A banner day for local harness racing as crowds flock to the track to witness a new record in the 2:12 pace.
The story, cleaned up
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A beautiful Indian-summer day and an appetite whetted by yesterday's fine racing brought the largest crowd of the week out to the fairgrounds that afternoon. The attendance was estimated at 2,500, a substantial increase over the attendance of the two former days, showing that the efforts of the fair management to revive racing in Walla Walla by sportsman-like methods is appreciated. Long before the time for the first race, the crowds began flocking in at the main entrance. The grandstand was comfortably filled, and fully a hundred loaded rigs dotted the enclosure inside the track. In the 2:12 pace, Francisco, Reta, and Harry Hurst competed. Reta finished three feet ahead in 2:11 1/2, establishing a new track record. The 2:27 trot brought out three horses: Judge Brents' Helen Norte, Belle Storm, and H. P. Preston's colt Helen. Belle Storm emerged victorious, winning the race in 2:24 1/2 and 2:23 1/2.
“The grandstand was comfortably filled and fully a hundred loaded rigs dotted the enclosure inside the track.”
While the specific site of the old Walla Walla Fairgrounds racetrack has been redeveloped, the spirit of local agricultural and equestrian competition remains a cornerstone of the community's identity. The 'revival' of the fairgrounds in 1903 mirrors modern efforts to maintain traditional civic spaces in an age of digital entertainment.
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