Brooklyn, Sheepshead Bay
“One of the most beautiful racing tracks in America” according to the caption on this unused card. We would like to let Wikipedia tell its (edited) story: “Sheepshead Bay Race Track opened in 1880 … the track would continue to operate as a horse-racing course until 1910 when horse betting was criminalized in New York state. Afterward it operated as an auto racing track from 1915 to 1919. The decline of the Sheepshead Bay Race Track, along with the construction of amusement parks at nearby Coney Island, led to the decline of Sheepshead Bay as a tourist destination. Passenger rail service on the Manhattan Beach Branch ceased in 1924, the line was formally abandoned in 1937, and the former race track site was subdivided for the construction of housing.” So, not beautiful enough. The card is, though. Grade: 1