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- About the paper and pencil game, see Racetrack.
A race track (or 'racetrack'), is a purpose-built facility for the conducting of races. This racing can be of animals (eg. horseracing or greyhound racing), human-operated machines (eg. automobiles or motorcycles), or athletes. A race track may also feature spectating facilities such as grandstands or concourses. Throughout the English-speaking world the term racecourse is also used for horse-racing facilities. Race tracks built for bicycles are known as velodromes.
Horse and dog racing facilities tend to use circular or oval tracks, whereas most automotive and motorcycle racing is performed on irregular and meandering courses, which are sometimes called 'road circuits' (this originates in the fact that the earliest road racing circuits were simply closed-off public roads). A notable exception is most forms of automotive racing in the USA (such as NASCAR) that primarily use oval tracks (known as "speedways").
History
There is some evidence of racetracks being developed in the several ancient civilisations, but the most impressive ancient racetracks were certainly the hippodrome of the Ancient Greeks and the circus of the Roman Empire. Both of these structures were designed for horse and chariot racing. The stadium of the Circus Maximus is a well-known example that could hold 200,000 spectators.
Racing facilities existed during the Middle Ages and there are records of a public racecourse being opened at Newmarket in London in 1174. In 1780 the Earl of Derby created a horse-racing course on his estate at Epsom; the English Derby continues to be held there today.
Horse racing in the United States and on the North American continent dates back to the establishment of another course named Newmarket -- on the Salisbury Plains section of what is now known as the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York in 1665. This first racing meet in North America was supervised by New York's colonial Governor, Richard Nicolls. The area is now occupied by the present Nassau County, New York region of Greater Westbury and East Garden City. The South Westbury section is also (appropriately) known as Salisbury.
Major horse racetracks in the US were built at Saratoga Springs, New York in 1863 and at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky., opened in 1875. The year 1905 saw the opening of Belmont Park in Elmont, New York (just outside New York City) --on part of the western edge of the Hempstead Plains. Its mile and a half main track is the largest dirt Thoroughbred race course in the world, and it has the sport's largest grandstand.
Modern racetracks
With the advent of the automobile in the early 20th century, new styles of racetrack came into existence, one designed to suit the nature of powered machines. The earliest dedicated tracks were simply modified horse racing courses, and racing autombiles in these facilities began in September 1896 at Narragansett Park in Cranston, RI in 1896. The original Indianapolis Motor Speedway was opened in August of 1909.
After WWI purpose-built tracks built outside the USA tended to be complicated road circuits, specifically designed to test the limits of both driver and machine.
During the 1920s, most of the races on the AAA Championship occurred on high banked wooden race tracks, called board tracks.
See also
List of Auto Racing tracks
"Race track"