Roosevelt Raceway Closing The Real Story

[The Thorn]

News Footage of the whole Roosevelt closing from the sale to the allegedly lying money grabbers who never had any intention to keep racing,  to the lawsuit trying to keep it alive.  Interviews with some drivers and trainers included. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHpKs2W7kIY

[The Thorn]

Lets go to the beginning.  I had no idea that George Morton Levy the founder of Roosevelt was a lawyer who represented gangster Lucky Luciano and got the idea that since illegal gambling was so lucrative, how profitable would legal nighttime racing be?

[Meadow Ford]

I believe Sportsman's Park was first a dog track run by Al Capone.

[kantseeback]

I believe Sportsman's Park was first a dog track run by Al Capone.

I beleive Al Capone built Northfield.

[Generation XYZ]

I beleive Al Capone built Northfield.

Then you'd be wrong. It was built by a Shopping Center/ Apartment Complex Developer.

[kantseeback]

Then you'd be wrong. It was built by a Shopping Center/ Apartment Complex Developer.

Thanks for the correction.
I was told years ago by more than one person that Capone built Northfield as a greyhound track and that's why it has those tight turns, just rumors I guess.

[kantseeback]

Then you'd be wrong. It was built by a Shopping Center/ Apartment Complex Developer.

According to this article Al Capone didn't build the raceway however his syndicate did own it for a while. It originally opened as Sportsman park but then changed names to Northfield. until 1956 midget race cars raced there.

article,
https://clevelandvintage.com/blogs/cleveland/al-capones-connection-to-clevelands-northfield-park