Mostly a nighttime sport, the track is operating during the afternoon, so that the facility can eventually cater to the throngs of slot players in the evenings. Live racing at the Chester track is set for Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays during its inaugural 45-day meet that runs through Dec. Seven of those licenses are reserved for racetracks. Harrah's Chester is expected to be the first track to offer slot machine gambling as a result of the 2004 slots law that legalized machines at racetracks, resorts, and stand-alone casinos. The world's largest casino company is building a posh $430 million (including a $50 million licensing fee) entertainment complex that will house 2,750 slot machines when it's fully operational on January 16. It is the first racetrack to open in Pennsylvania since Philadelphia Park in 1974.īut Harrah's Chester is much more than harness racing. Located on 64 acres of the long abandoned Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock facility, the track offers sparkling views of ships and tankers passing by on the Delaware River. Hall of Famer Carl Manzi, driving Silver Flash, won the first official race. Chester Casino & Racetrack launched a new era in harness racing in the Delaware Valley on September 10. Roland is betting the good times are back. The sport disappeared in the Delaware Valley when first Liberty Bell, then Brandywine and finally Garden State Park were shuttered over the past 20 years. 'There would be 15,000 people on a Saturday night,' recalled Roland, now a trainer and resident of Jennersville, Pa. As a kid Brian Roland remembers the thrill of traveling to the Brandywine Raceway with his father, a standardbred trainer.

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