The Old Nashville Fairgrounds and the Nashville Speedway

In June of 1904, the Nashville Speedway was home to “horseless carriage” and motorcycle races. At the time, the track was made of dirt and would host harness horse racing on special occasions.

By September of 1904, a new racing series was introduced to Tennesseans that involved the modern marvel… cars. Some racing around the bend at speeds of 60-miles-per-hour.

Several years later in 1915, a few drivers from the Indianapolis 500 decided to head to Nashville to take a few runs around the small track. Growing in popularity, the races grew larger and larger audiences into the 30’s and 40’s. However, it wasn’t until 1958 that organizers decided to pave the track.

The old Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway held their first NASCAR Grand National Race of 200-laps in 1959. Music City continued to host a leg of the NASCAR Grand National / Winston Cup Series races up until 1984.

In the 2000’s, the track was renamed the Music City Motorplex. Today (2022), the track is known as the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and hosts a number of races to include the Bass Tire 100, the Camping World SRX Series and more.

Big Machine Music City Grand Prix 2021

A crowd of more than 140,000 spectators were in downtown Nashville for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Fans from all over the globe filled hotels throughout Middle Tennessee. The event reportedly generated over $20-million in revenue for Nashville and the 8-counties that surround the Metro area – and that number doesn't include the funds used to organize and set-up the 3-day race (Aug. 6, 7, 8, 2021).

Winning the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday evening was Marcus Ericsson from Sweden. Driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, his Honda powered IndyCar won the race after smashing the nose of his ride into car number 14. 30-Year-old Ericsson finished within 1.5596 seconds of his teammate Scott Dixon.

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Photography and Story by Scott Walker

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Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge during Sunday racing in Nashville, Tennessee - Aug. 8, 2021.

One of the highlights of the race occurred when the 27-cars traveled over the Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge. In fact, the bridge over the river was a first for the IndyCar circuit in the U.S. and one of only a few courses in the world to cross over a river the size of the Cumberland.

Known for their speed, the IndyCars were reported to have hit 185 miles per hour as they traveled 80-feet above the Cumberland River while crossing the 553-yard bridge (1,660-feet in length). The straightaway at the start and end of the bridge, including the roadway leading up to and away from the bridge, was approximately 2,200-feet, which made it the longest straightaway for IndyCar this season.

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Lot’s of wrecks took place on the race course that included 11-turns in the 2.17-mile run. One of those wrecks (above) involved #48, Jimmie Johnson. Evidently, Johnson tweeted that the course was really “bumpy.”

Murfreesboro's MTSU played a role in helping to ensure safety measures were in place. The MTSU School of Concrete and Construction Management helped to design and build the racing barriers along the course and on pit row.

Those expensive horses...

“I’ve been coming here since I was a baby,” he told me while standing inside the back entrance to the Keenland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The track is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility that was first opened in 1936.

With a history that spans over 80 years, lots of residents in Kentucky have memories growing up around the track. “My daddy worked here for years with the horses,” he explained.

*(Sorry for the language, not mine, but his statement) I asked him, “Have you ever dreamed of racing them or raising a race horse?” He seemed irritated at my whimsical question as if only the chosen could raise such a thoroughbred, “Oh hell no – Shit no, Shit no! Those things - - That would cost over a million dollars… Seriously? WTF…” He then walked off and I could only grin at the thought of how much pride, excitement and honor has been placed on these race horses and track over the years.

“The racehorse, by virtue of his awesome physical gifts, freed the jockey from himself. When a horse and a jockey flew over the track together, there were moments in which the man's mind wedded itself to the animal's body to form something greater than the sum of both parts.” ― Laura Hillenbrand, Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Off to the Races

Race horses are bred for one thing… to run. 

If you have ever been to the races, have you taken the time to watch the muscular horses make their way to and from their stalls? They fight their handler all the way in. They show their teeth, they pull away, they strut the opposite direction, and they sometimes rare back onto their hind feet. 

The Thoroughbred race horse resembles its historic Arabian descendants. It is a horse that is stout and quick to jump, run or escape the rider in some cases. 

The American Quarter horse is a popular breed in races as well. The smaller, muscular horses have sometimes been clocked at speeds of 55 miles per hour. The life expectancy is usually around 27 to 30-years of both Quarter horses and Thoroughbred’s, assuming no serious injuries end that life early. 

When I think of race horses, I think of that old school jazz infused big band style of music. I think of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Betty Grable. 

“Gal is like a racehorse, I play her to win
But if I should lose her, another may come in
Love can be like heaven, love can be a joke
But it's worth a gamble so, hey, I go for broke”
- Dean Martin, “Who’s Got the Action”