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Horse Racing at Fair

When racing started at the Fair in 1874, there was no "legalized " gambling but there was plenty of "side bets" that accompanied the races. Bookies wore white coats and stood on platforms next to the track. The Judges Stand, which now resides at the top of the Grandstand, was opposite the finish line and was located on the infield. From their vantage point of height the Judges carefully watch as they did more than 125 years ago the complete horserace. Judges are now also located at the eighth, quarter and three-eighth’s points of the track. Much goes into each race, as all of the horses and drivers must qualify to race at the Fair. It will take a horse at least three months of training to be able to compete and the driver years of practice to become proficient. Local driving legend Bucky Day would always put on a driving exhibition at the Fair and held the track record with the pacer Strong Focus until his death. Bucky will always be remembered for his ability to "tuck" a horse in while in the first turn which is no small feat at the Fair track.

With the advent of the off-track betting parlors, the lotteries and the casinos located nearby, many local tracks have succumbed to age and neglect. Rochester is proud to be the only fair in the state that has continued to support the local Harness Racing community. Just six years ago the Fair completed major renovations to their Victorian Grandstand which itself is over 100 years old. While the tracks at Deerfield, Dover, and Plymouth are now gone, Rochester Fair feels that the excitement of live harness horse racing will continue to thrill thousands just as it has for the past 130 years.

From the collectable Currier and Ives prints of the turn of the century to the Fair postcards featured on EBAY on a regular basis, harness racing and the Rochester Fair will always be a part of New Hampshire’s heritage.

 Racing Buildings

At the turn of the century, Fairgoers tied their horses to rails set up on the infield. The Racing office was built in 1935 understand the Grandstand and was used until 1976. The new office building was built as it is now in 1977. The judges' stand used to be where the tote board is now. It looked like a square version of the current Security Building Bandstand. By the 1940's, it succumbed to age, and at this point, a new structure was built on the grandstand roof. The use of a starting gate was started in the 1940's and night racing began in 1957. For decades, the racetrack used calculating machines to handle the betting until 1988, when the use of computers helped with the computations. Rochester is the only fair in the state that has maintained its racetrack and its racing heritage. Other area racetracks that have closed include Bridgetown, Cornish, Deerfield, Dover, Gorham, Hopkinton, Kennebunk, Laconia, Lancaster, Newmarket, and Pittsfield.

Pari-Mutuel Harness Racing

Before the 1930's, there was no legalized Pari-Mutuel betting at the racetrack, but there were betting pools with a 50-cent limit on gambling. The bookies wore white coats and stood next to the track on platforms near the bandstand. Mutuel betting started here in 1934 and the Rochester Fair was the only Fair in the United States to have it. In 1935, pari-mutuel Racing started at the fair with runners and trotters. Pari-Mutuel harness racing, one of Rochester Fair's main attractions, draws huge crowds from miles around every night of the fair. Over the years, the Fair has hosted some champion horses, including Margaret Dillon, the first pacer to run the mile in two minutes. World records have been set here, including the record for In-Hand Coach and Under Saddle + in 1936, the mile and an eighth both trot and pace in '67, and for the high wheel sulky trot and pace in '69.

The "Hall of Fame"

A museum known as the "Hall of Fame" open to the public during the races is located in a room under the grandstand. The center attraction is a life-sized model of a horse, with sulky and driver. The walls of the room are covered with pictures of drivers and horses and lined with cases containing racing silks and trophies, honoring those who have raced at the local track. Pictures and other memorabilia from former fairs have been donated to be displayed here. On exhibit are copies of sheet music by Laurence Willey, who composed Rochester Fair March, Rochester Fair Waltz, and Rochester Fair Rag. There are paintings of horses painted by the famous Rochester native, Wilbur Duntley, known as the designer or our Parson Main monument. The old Fair Wagon is stored outside this room.