The Yaphank Racetrack That Came and Went Faster Than the Races
It sounded like a sure bet: a brand-new racetrack in Yaphank, big crowds, big dreams, and a whole new kind of horse racing on Long Island.
Instead, Parr Meadows became one of the strangest “what were they thinking?” moments in local history. If you’ve driven past the area near William Floyd Parkway, you’ve probably had no idea you were passing the site of a racetrack that flamed out almost as fast as the races themselves.
Here’s everything that actually happened and what Long Islanders still remember about it:
- Parr Meadows (also called Suffolk Meadows) was a quarter horse racetrack built in Yaphank in the 1970s.
- It opened in 1977 and shut down after just 113 days due to financial problems.
- The track briefly reopened in 1986, ran for about 86 days, and then closed for good on October 18, 1986.
- The facility sat on roughly 65 acres just north of the Long Island Expressway near William Floyd Parkway.
- Plans for the track were massive:
- A grandstand for about 25,000 spectators
- Around 20 barns to house up to 800 horses
- The project cost ballooned to about $22 million and was plagued by:
- Mounting debt
- Lawsuits
- Construction delays
- Difficulty securing loans
- Federal and local investigations looked into financing issues, including allegations tied to loan practices and possible outside influence.
- The track was designed specifically for quarter horse racing, which was not widely popular with Long Island crowds used to thoroughbred racing.
- Quarter horse races are extremely short, often just a few hundred yards, which many locals felt ended “before you even settled in.”
- The track faced competition and opposition from established racing interests like Roosevelt Raceway.
- At one point, the unfinished structure sat idle for years and was described as a visible symbol of stalled development in Suffolk County.
- The site hosted a massive 10th anniversary Woodstock reunion concert in 1979, drawing about 18,000 people and featuring performers from the original festival.
- Other events held there included:
- Rodeos
- Suffolk County Fair activities
- The racetrack was part of a much larger vision that included housing, shopping centers, and industrial development on surrounding land.
- Over time, parts of the property were lost to foreclosure due to unpaid debts.
- Long Islanders who went remember:
- Opening night crowds that were chaotic
- Many people only going once
- A reputation for being “boring” compared to other tracks
- A popular flea market that became one of the site’s biggest draws
- Some locals worked there or had family involved in racing, while others just remember it as a quick night out that didn’t stick.
- Today, the land has been completely redeveloped and includes:
- Apartments and townhouses
- Retail stores
- A Walmart Supercenter
- Hotels and assisted living facilities
For something that barely lasted a season, Parr Meadows left behind a surprising amount of history and even more opinions.
It’s one of those very Long Island stories: big idea, big investment, and somehow… gone before most people even figured out what it was.
Photo: John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful, Woodstock Reunion, 9/7/79. by Bob Sanderson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Horses, stock image, Image by Hancock707 from Pixabay
