As Arlington prepares to welcome the IndyCar racing circuit and the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington March 13–15, few may realize that the city is firmly on the map of American racing history.
The University of Texas at Arlington's Special Collections is telling that story through a mini-exhibit, Uncovered Speed: The Legacy of Open-Wheeled Racing in Arlington, which puts the spotlight on a nearly forgotten chapter of the city's past. The exhibit runs through March 16.
Arlington Downs was a former horse and auto racing track located less than half a mile from today's sports and entertainment district. According to the Texas State Historical Association, Arlington Downs opened Nov. 1, 1929, and was built by oilman W.T. Waggoner as a 1¼-mile track with grandstands to seat about 6,000 spectators.
It was an ambitious gamble. Waggoner invested heavily even before pari-mutuel betting was legal in Texas. Once that happened in 1933, Arlington Downs quickly became one of the state's premier racing destinations.
While it began as a horse racing venue, Arlington Downs' story didn't end there. After pari-mutuel betting was banned again in 1937 and the property changed hands, the track hosted a variety of events, including rodeos, stock car races, and, most notably, open-wheel auto racing. Between 1947 and 1950, Arlington Downs hosted AAA Championship Racing events, sanctioned by the AAA Contest Board, the organization that helped lay the foundation for modern open-wheel and IndyCar racing.
Legendary Driver Ted Horn
Among the standout racers at Arlington Downs was Ted Horn, who became a force in American open-wheel racing.
Horn won the AAA National Championship three years in a row: 1946, 1947 and 1948. Over 71 major races, he notched 24 wins, 12 second-place finishes and 13 third-place finishes. Tragically, his life and career ended at the age of 38 during the final race of the 1948 season at the DuQuoin (Illinois) State Fairgrounds.
Horn's talents extended far beyond Arlington.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum notes that Horn dominated nearly every track he raced on, particularly half-mile dirt tracks, where he claimed more than 80 AAA sprint car victories between 1936 and 1948, including 23 in 1948 alone. He also won the Central States Racing Association sprint car title in 1941 and 1945. While he never won the Indianapolis 500, his record there was remarkable for consistency: nine straight finishes of fourth or better, a pole position in 1947, and 94 laps led over three years.
Hollywood Comes to Arlington Downs
Arlington Downs even made it to Hollywood. Part of the 1950 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film To Please a Lady, starring Clark Gable, was filmed at Arlington Downs, including the dirt track racing scenes, according to the Internet Movie Database.
Special Collections holds a souvenir program from an MGM sweepstakes for the film; on it, Gable wrote, "To the race fans in Texas, good luck, Clark Gable."
Arlington Downs was more than just a racetrack: It was a place where history, culture and even Hollywood intersected.
Remembering Arlington Downs Today
Today, the Arlington Downs track is gone, replaced by an industrial park at 300 Six Flags Dr., but traces of its past remain. The driveway into the site follows the same path once used by race fans, and a relocated fountain near a historical marker is one of the few visible reminders of what once stood there.
A second historical marker stands at 2225 E. Randol Mill Rd. in front of the Arlington Downs office building, preserving the site's legacy and connecting today's Arlington to its racing past.
What You'll See at the Exhibit
The exhibit brings that history to life through photographs, maps and rare materials from UTA Libraries' collections. Visitors will see images from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, original race-day programs and a detailed map of Arlington Downs.
Photographs of Horn and race programs are among the highlights, along with the Clark Gable souvenir program, all telling the forgotten story of Arlington Downs.
Uncovered Speed: The Legacy of Open-Wheeled Racing in Arlington will run from Feb. 16 through March 16 on the sixth floor of the UTA Central Library. Stop by, explore the exhibit, and discover how Arlington's past and present connect, one turn at a time.
- Andy Branca, UTA Libraries
About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
The University of Texas at Arlington is a growing public research university in the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth. With a student body of over 42,700, UTA is the second-largest institution in the University of Texas System, offering more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Recognized as a Carnegie R-1 university, UTA stands among the nation's top 5% of institutions for research activity. UTA and its 280,000 alumni generate an annual economic impact of $28.8 billion for the state. The University has received the Innovation and Economic Prosperity designation from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities and has earned recognition for its focus on student access and success, considered key drivers to economic growth and social progress for North Texas and beyond.
