Museum Celebrates 150th Saratoga Race Course Anniversary

"He was a remarkable individual, able to rise from the humblest of beginnings

in Troy, New York, taking every opportunity to raise himself and provide for his

family and friends.

"Johnny Morrissey's enduring legacy is the Saratoga Race Course, one of the

most revered race tracks in the world. Thanks to him, Saratoga thrived as the

premier gathering of race horses, and continues to thrive today."

"The Irish and Horse Racing: John Morrissey" features photographs,

illustrations, newspaper accounts, music and costumes. Exhibit-goers will listen

to selections of music popular in Mr. Morrissey's day, including an Irish folk

song boasting of his fighting prowess. National Geographic's "Ballad of the

Irish Horse" will be shown daily at 1 p.m. Funding for "The Irish and Horse

Racing: John Morrissey" is from the Charles Lawrence Keith & Clara Miller

Foundation and the Government of Ireland.

 The new exhibit, wholly developed by the Museum, is open to the public

through August from Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on

Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon to 4 p.m.

The suggested donations for admission are: $3 adults, $2 seniors and free for

children 14 years of age and younger. Museum Memberships are also available upon

entry. Donations and memberships help fund the Museum's educational programs.

Morrissey's story is that of the 19th century immigrant in America. Leaving

Tipperary, Ireland, when he was a baby, Morrissey's family settled in Troy in

1833. He grew fierce; working as a mill laborer at 12, then as a ruffian on the

docks of Troy and New York City. He became a Tammany Hall enforcer, then

gambling operator and racetrack and sporting impresario. Along the way he was

the national bare-knuckle boxing champ. Later on, Morrissey was elected to

Congress and the New York State Senate.

Once he accumulated the resources to acquire the niceties to which gentlemen

of the day were accustomed, Morrissey expanded his business and gambling

interests beyond New York City. Seeing a void in the racing circuit caused by

the conflict between the North and the South in the Civil War, Morrissey came up

with the idea of holding a meet on a trotting track in the upstate resort of

Saratoga Springs in August, 1863. He put together a race card that drew the top

horses and most affluent owners at what is now the Oklahoma Track. In 1864, he

purchased the land across the street, the current site of Saratoga Race Course.

Morrissey chose well, for Saratoga drew the upper echelon of a sector of

society that was looking for entertainment. In time, a core group of socially

prominent businessmen joined with Morrissey and formed the Saratoga Racing

Association. Under Morrissey's tenure, Saratoga became the foremost racing venue

during the reconstruction period following the Civil War. To this day, 150 years

later, hundreds of thousands of racing fans enjoy the racing paradise of

Saratoga that all began with John Morrissey's vision.

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