The End Is Near For Northville Staple
As a fresh 21 year old I spent a lot of time at Northville Downs, from gambling downstairs, to betting on horses. I had some great memories there, so I will be sad to see it finally go.
Originally built in 1944. From charity blackjack and poker in the basement. To watching the horses run, thoroughbreds and harness racing, it was always a fun time to head to Northville Downs. Unfortunately, February will be the end for this once cherished place.
The final races at Northville Downs will take place on February 3rd. What will replace it? A massive mixed residential project that has been years in the making.
Some of the reason for the delay, residents of the area are worried about traffic. Northville Downs sits on 49 acres, which will now be home to a mixture of houses and apartments. Unfortunately, for current residents it looks like the plans are fully in motion now.
Northville Downs History:
Northville downs opened in the summer of 1944. It was the first of it’s kind in Michigan and one of only a handful in the United States to offer nighttime harness racing. For over 100 years, the racetrack and stayed operational. What went wrong for the Downs? Around 2000 when the casinos started getting popular in downtown Detroit, Northville Downs began to see a downswing in their attendance and betting. For a while they tried a charity poker and blackjack room downstairs but that was short lived. They returned to harness racing and even did some remodeling. That was then, now it will be replaced with a massive residential project.
Here is a full report on the end of the Downs and what is next for the location:
Northville Downs has presented new plans to open up a new and state of the art race track in Plymouth, but those plans remain up in the air. We may just have to wait and see if they can find a new location.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS:
Like I said above, my friends and I spent a lot of time at Northville Downs when we were younger. It was the perfect spot for us to go, hangout and throw a couple bucks at the horse races. We even spent a lot of time in the basement playing poker and blackjack. Although I haven’t been back in sometime, the news of it possibly going away for good is sad. I will always have memories of us going there and having a great time.
When all is said and done, I hope they can resolve this and find a new home for the downs. I believe people still love watching horse racing and especially like betting on them.
Just ANOTHER reason why they call Northville “Historic”!
Want some more of Northville and the Downs? Take a look back to 2020 when City of the week visited.
