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817 Main St. . Laurel, MD 20707 . 301-725-7975

2011 Exhibit

 

Willie Shoemaker, Secretariat, and Elizabeth Taylor. Slots, Redskins, and The Washington International.  October, 2011 marks the Hundredth Anniversary of the Laurel Race Track. The Laurel Museum is celebrating this milestone with an exhibition that opened February 6. And They’re Off!  100 Years at Laurel Park explores the glamour and grit of racing, life behind the scenes at the Laurel Race Track, and the impact on the town for which it is named.

    The exhibition explores Laurel Park from the beginning years all the way through today’s fading and often tenuous present filled with controversies over slots, bankruptcy, limited racing schedules and threatened shut-downs.   The exhibit starts in 1911, when the Track began as part of a Four County Fair with high-wire acts, to the Golden Age of the Washington International.  And They’re Off is filled with articles and memorabilia; including items such as Willie Shoemaker’s boot last, jockey silks, race cards, and many famous winner’s circle photos.  There are celebrities, both human and equine, including Secretariat, Count Fleet, Kelso, Tip O’Neill and Elizabeth Taylor.  

  The story of Laurel Park is not just a story of racing.  The exhibit reminds visitors of the concerts, fairs, and even military camp that occupied the grounds at different periods. Singers Rod Stewart, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, the Guess Who and others sang at Laurel Park on July 11, 1969 in a major prelude to Woodstock. At its heart, the exhibit really focuses on the people who make up the racing community both at the track and in Laurel.  Visitors will meet both the Bedwells and the A.M. Kroop Family, whose custom shoe and boot making shop still operates on Main Street.  They’ll also be introduced to the Miller Family, who raise, train and ride horses, and have a Preakness winning jockey in the family! King Leatherbury, the third winningest trainer in America has Barn #1 at Laurel Park.  They’ll also discover Nick Jimmie, a horse who captured the town’s heart in the 1950s.

And They’re Off! will run through December, 2011. 

Video on the Exhibit!

Video on Kroops Boots!

Check Us Out in the Press:

http://www.gazette.net/stories/02102011/laurnew180047_32541.php

http://www.explorehoward.com/news/79547/looking-back-100-years-laurel-park/

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2011/02/10/laurel-celebrates-100.aspx

 

 

Check Out Some Famous Races at Laurel:

Secretariat in 1972

TV Lark in 1961

Kelso in 1964

Affirmed in 1977

 

Not at Laurel, but still interesting! Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral in 1938

 

Videos Explaining the Horse Racing Industry:

Trainer Barn

Hot Walking

Starter

Groom

Valet

Clerk of Scales

Exercise Rider

Assigned Weight

Patrol Judge

Paddock Judge

 

 

 

 

Pictures of the Current Exhibit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also on Exhibit:

Laurel:  A Mill Town First

This exhibit area gives visitors an overview of Laurel’s early mill history. Photos, and artifacts from the mill period.

Bert Sadler Photographs

These photographs illustrate what life was like in Laurel during the early 20th century.

Recent Acquisitions

This display highlights a number of recent acquisitions taken in the Laurel Museum Collection.

 

 

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