I know that the Fair Grounds Race Course is getting ready to open on Thanksgiving Day after being closed for the entire season last year after Katrina. Is this the only time that the Fair Grounds has been closed?

Jim

The Fair Grounds Race Course first opened in 1872 and has only been shut down a few times: once by an act of the state Legislature, once by a banking panic and twice by fire.

Dear Jim,

There are thousands of us just counting the days until we hear the "Call to the Post" live at our favorite racecourse and the horses are running again. Katrina caused the Fair Grounds to close for the entire 2005-2006 season, but it was not the first time that the track closed or almost closed its gates.

The Fair Grounds had its official opening under that name and under the auspices of the Louisiana Jockey Club on April 13, 1872. The name came from a Mechanics and Agricultural Fair that was held on the location in 1859. Folks kept referring to the area as the "fair grounds" and the name stuck.

All was well with racing at the Fair Grounds until 1908, when the Locke Law was passed by the Louisiana Legislature prohibiting gambling "by the operation of betting books, French Mutual Pooling devices, Auction Pools or any device." So all bets were off, so to speak, and for seven miserable years there was no racing.

Somehow we managed to survive, but better days were ahead, and on Jan. 1, 1915, the Fair Grounds opened again under the auspices of the Business Men's Racing Association. Every horse lover in town showed up with bells on to welcome the return of racing. The skies were bright blue and there was an ample supply of thoroughbreds on hand. Conditions could not have been better. However, at that time the management decided to charge an admission fee at the gate of $1.50 and an additional fee of $1 to gain admission to the paddock and the posh "palm garden." The fees discouraged no one.

But disaster struck on the morning of Dec. 28, 1918, when the grandstand burned to the ground. It was just three days before the winter meeting of the Fair Grounds was to open. Not to be daunted, the Business Men's Racing Association met and arranged for a temporary stand that was miraculously constructed in time to allow the start of the season on Jan. 1, 1919, and 12,000 racing fans came out. This temporary grandstand was soon replaced by a splendid one from the defunct City Park Race Track. This track had opened early in 1905 as competition to the Fair Grounds but did not return after the passage of the Locke Law. The City Park grandstand was taken apart and reassembled at the Fair Grounds, where it stood until 1993.

Then another event caused the Fair Grounds to close its gates to racing fans. No, it was not World War I. In fact, all through the Great War, which lasted until 1918, the horses never stopped running. And it was during this time -- 1916 to 1918 -- that fans saw Panzareta, "Queen of the Turf," race.

The event that caused the closing this time took place right after the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president of the United States. About three weeks before the inauguration there was a bank panic as people rushed to close their accounts. The day before Roosevelt took office, more than 5,000 banks went under. On March 4, 1933, Roosevelt was inaugurated, and on March 6 all banks in the United States were forced to close their doors. On that same day, the Fair Grounds closed its gates. It opened again on March 16, but the crowd was not large.

Most of us remember distinctly the last time the Fair Grounds was forced to close. On Dec. 17, 1993, a terrible fire destroyed the grandstand that had replaced the one lost in the fire of 1918. Practically everything was lost, but, miraculously, the barns and the horses were spared. Temporary structures were built and trailers were installed. Huge, colorful tents were erected and became the temporary grandstands. Against all odds, the track was back in action on Jan. 5, 1994.