Maywood Racetrack
Maywood Park stood as a cornerstone of Illinois horse racing, serving as a premier destination for Standardbred harness racing in the Midwest.
Located in Melrose Park, Illinois (on unincorporated Cook County land), the track was a vital hub for local and national racing enthusiasts. Its convenient location placed it just 10 miles south of O'Hare International Airport and roughly 12 miles from the heart of the Chicago Loop. Throughout its storied history, Maywood Park offered an intense, year-round racing schedule, punctuated only by brief, intermittent seasonal breaks.
Maywood Racetrack Facts
Engineered for high-speed, competitive harness racing, the facility boasted an intimate half-mile oval that brought fans right to the edge of the action.
- Track Layout: A half-mile oval featuring 77-foot-wide stretches and a 594-foot homestretch.
- Starting Positions: Accommodated 8 standing start positions.
- Speed Rating: Rated at an impressive 2:003.
- Capacity: Built to host massive crowds, the venue featured a total grandstand capacity of 10,487, with specialized seating including a 6,000-seat Clubhouse and 2,900-seat Grandstand, allowing for peak race-day crowds of up to 13,900 spectators.
- Inaugural Season: Opened its doors to the public in 1946.
Special Stakes at Maywood Racetrack
Maywood Park was renowned for hosting elite stakes and series that held immense prestige across the county, state, and regional circuits. Over the decades, the oval tested the grit of the country's finest pacers and trotters in several signature events, including:
- The Windy City Pace & Abe Lincoln Stake
- Taurus Bomber Stake & Direct Balance Stake
- Spring Championship & Cook County Pace
- ISOBA Stake & Maywood Filly Pace
- Fox Valley Redhot Series Final
- Pacific Series Final & Big Dog Final
- Newcomers Series Final
The Final Post Time
After anchoring the Illinois racing community for 69 years—the longest consecutive harness racing streak in state history—Maywood Park hosted its final live racing card on October 2, 2015.
The historic venue ultimately succumbed to severe financial distress, accelerated by a costly $75 million civil judgment linked to a state casino tax dispute that forced the operation into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This financial strain was further compounded by shifting entertainment trends, a decline in live attendance, and a lack of state legislative support to allow slot machines at racetracks to revitalize revenue. Following the Illinois Racing Board's decision to deny the track racing dates for the 2016 season, Maywood Park closed its doors permanently. The property was sold through bankruptcy liquidation, the grandstands were demolished in 2019, and the historic grounds were subsequently redeveloped into a modern industrial logistics park, marking the end of an unforgettable era in Midwest sports history.