Yonkers Raceway History: Empire City, the Rooneys & MGM

Feature Photo: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

After William H. Clark’s Empire City Trotting Club opened on September 4, 1899, the racetrack became the source of debate when the man behind it died the following year. Legal disputes involving Clark’s heirs left the track closed for much of the next seven years, although it opened for special events. On one such occasion in 1902, automobile racer Barney Oldfield drove Henry Ford’s famous 999 around the one-mile Empire City track in 55.54 seconds. Long before it became Yonkers Raceway, the property was already making sports history.

Where Legacies Began

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Located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New York, the raceway sits just north of the New York City border. In 1907, grocery-store magnate James Butler purchased the facility and reopened it for thoroughbred racing. After Butler died in 1934, Empire City continued operating as a thoroughbred track. One of the most famous horses ever to compete there was Seabiscuit, who won the Scarsdale Handicap at Empire City in 1936.

After New York legalized pari-mutuel wagering in 1940, Empire City underwent improvements and eventually returned to harness racing. In 1943, wartime gasoline rationing forced the Hambletonian away from Good Time Park in Goshen, and the great trotting classic was held at Empire City. Volo Song, trained and driven by Ben White, won the race.

Ups and Downs

In 1950, William H. Cane headed the group that transformed the old Empire City property into Yonkers Raceway. The one-mile thoroughbred track gave way to a half-mile harness oval, and the renovated facility opened on April 27, 1950. A crowd of 21,181 attended opening night. Less than a month later, on May 20, Yonkers became the first harness track to record a $1 million wagering handle in a single program.

In 1954, Yonkers made history again as the first harness facility to top $2 million in handle in a single night. The following year brought two races that became major parts of harness racing history: the Yonkers Trot and the Cane Pace. The Yonkers Trot became part of the Trotting Triple Crown, while the Cane Pace became part of the Pacing Triple Crown.

Under the leadership that followed Cane’s redevelopment, Yonkers Raceway reached extraordinary heights. On November 30, 1962, it became the first harness track to top the $3 million handle mark in a single night when $3,191,020 was wagered. Crowds during the track’s peak years could number in the tens of thousands. By the late 1960s, however, changing entertainment habits and other pressures had begun to take their toll.

Rooney’s Yonkers

On December 15, 1969, Yonkers again topped $3 million in a single-night handle, reaching $3,220,686. In 1972, five brothers from the Rooney family purchased Yonkers Raceway for $52 million from members of the Tananbaum family. At the time, it was regarded as the largest purchase of a privately owned racetrack in American history. Timothy J. Rooney was named president of the corporation and became one of the most important figures in the track’s modern history.

The Rooney family was already famous through the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers. The Rooneys are also connected by marriage to the Mara family, longtime owners of the New York Giants. Actresses Kate Mara and Rooney Mara descend from both football families. The Mara family, however, was not a co-owner of Yonkers Raceway; the track remained a Rooney family business until its sale to MGM Resorts International in 2019.

The Rooney era brought a series of changes to Yonkers Raceway. New technology was introduced, including color television monitors, and the track continued to produce enormous wagering totals. In 1973, Yonkers handled approximately $317 million over 160 racing dates, demonstrating that the Hilltop Oval remained one of the major harness-racing facilities in North America.

In 1986, Yonkers expanded its connection to thoroughbred racing through simulcasting from New York Racing Association tracks. Live telecasts from Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course brought a new form of wagering to the Hilltop Oval.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Yonkers also became an important host for the New York Sire Stakes program, with major events for the state’s best young Standardbreds. The track’s racing calendar continued to evolve as traditional stakes races, sire-stakes events, and simulcasting became increasingly important to its business.

Records & Renovations

On April 24, 1993, Silver Almahurst set a world record for harness racing on a half-mile track with a 1:50.4 victory in the George Morton Levy Memorial Final. On July 10 of that year, American Winner captured the Yonkers Trot in 1:56.2, establishing another track record.

On August 14, 1993, Giant Force won the International Trot at Yonkers in 2:27 for the mile-and-a-quarter distance, breaking the existing world and stakes record. The International Trot had moved to Yonkers after the closing of Roosevelt Raceway, and the great international event became another important chapter in Yonkers racing history.

In 1996, Yonkers Raceway moved the finish line and lengthened the homestretch from 440 feet to 660 feet. The following year, the aging grandstand was demolished as part of a major facelift. There was also consideration of selling the property to the New York Jets for the construction of a football stadium, but the proposal never moved forward.

Yonkers underwent significant renovations in 1997. That same year, Western Dreamer won the final Cane Pace held at Yonkers on his way to capturing the Pacing Triple Crown, becoming the first horse to accomplish the feat since Ralph Hanover in 1983. The Cane Pace subsequently moved away from Yonkers.

Driver Walter Case Jr. produced one of the most remarkable seasons in track history in 1998, winning 978 races at Yonkers. His 1,076 total driving victories that year also established a single-season record for harness racing. Earlier, on January 16, 1992, Case had become the youngest driver to reach 5,000 career victories when he guided Royal Ironstone to victory at Yonkers.

Empire City Casino

On October 11, 2006, the first phase of Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway opened with video lottery gaming. The project ultimately represented a $225 million redevelopment of the property and brought thousands of electronic gaming machines to the racetrack. The casino provided a major new revenue stream at a time when the economics of live harness racing had changed dramatically.

The casino continued to expand after its opening. A major $50 million project completed in January 2013 added approximately 66,000 square feet to Empire City Casino and further transformed a property that had begun its life more than a century earlier as a horse-racing facility.

The new casino business became closely tied to the future of Yonkers Raceway. Gaming revenue strengthened the overall property and helped support racing at the half-mile track while Empire City developed into one of the largest gaming destinations in the New York metropolitan area.

MGM Comes to Yonkers

The Rooney family’s long ownership of Yonkers Raceway came to an end in January 2019 when MGM Resorts International completed its acquisition of the real property and operations associated with Empire City Casino and Yonkers Raceway. MGM reported total consideration of approximately $865 million after adjustments. The sale ended a Rooney ownership era that had lasted since 1972.

The real-estate structure later changed again. The developed property became part of MGM Growth Properties and subsequently passed into the portfolio of VICI Properties when VICI acquired MGM Growth Properties in 2022. Today, VICI Properties owns the Empire City real estate while MGM Resorts operates Empire City Casino and Yonkers Raceway.

MGM later pursued one of New York’s downstate commercial casino licenses and proposed a multibillion-dollar transformation of the Yonkers property. That plan changed dramatically on October 14, 2025, when MGM Yonkers withdrew its commercial casino license application. MGM said it would continue operating Empire City in its existing format.

Yonkers Raceway Today

Yonkers Raceway remains an active harness-racing facility in 2026. The half-mile oval continues to host live racing as well as simulcasting, and major stakes remain part of the schedule. On June 26, 2026, the track hosted both the $250,000 MGM Yonkers Trot Final and the $200,000 MGM Messenger Final.

The Yonkers Trot remains one of the three races in the Trotting Triple Crown, while the Messenger Stakes is part of the Pacing Triple Crown. The pairing keeps Yonkers connected to the same Triple Crown traditions that helped establish its national reputation during the twentieth century.

Empire City Casino also remains open under MGM Resorts, offering video gaming, dining, entertainment, and both live and simulcast racing. More than 125 years after William H. Clark opened the Empire City Trotting Club, the property continues to combine its racing history with a very different modern entertainment business.

Readers interested in more New York racing history can also explore Roosevelt Raceway, the history of Saratoga Race Course, the history of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the history of the Meadowlands Racetrack.