Date opened 1901 Date closed 2001 | Opened 1901 | |
 | ||
Location N. Haven St. and
E. Sprague Ave.
Spokane, Washington, U.S. Course type Flat oval, five furlongs
1,100 yd (1.0 km) Notable races Playfair Mile
Spokane Derby
Inland Empire Marathon Similar Emerald Downs, Portland Meadows, Monmouth Park Racetrack | ||
Playfair race course spokane wa yakima meadows wa
Playfair Race Course, (known as the Spokane Interstate Fair from 1901–1935) was the home of horse racing in Spokane, Washington, from 1901 to 2000. The track started out as a four furlong oval, later expanded to five furlongs in 1946. The premier races run at the track were the Playfair Mile, Spokane Derby, and Inland Empire Marathon.
Contents
Closed
The facility assets were auctioned in March 2004 and it was demolished shortly after.
The 63-acre (0.25 km2) site was bought by the city of Spokane in 2004 for $6.3 million, with the intent of partnering with Spokane County for a new sewage treatment facility. The deal soured and 48 acres (0.19 km2) was sold in 2009 to SCAFCO, a steel-framing manufacturer.
Ferris Field
Ferris Field, a wooden baseball park, was adjacent to the west of the track. Built in 1936, and was the home of the minor league Spokane Indians through the 1956 season. A fire destroyed the grandstand in October 1948, and the stadium was rebuilt with steel in 1949. It hosted high school football in 1948 and 1949, between the condemnation of Gonzaga Stadium and the opening of Joe Albi Stadium in 1950 (as "Spokane Memorial Stadium").
The new Triple-A Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League arrived in 1958 and moved about a mile east to the new Avista Stadium (originally "Fairgrounds Park") on Havana St.