Racetrack Ownership
During the 1880s, the Dwyer brothers entered into a leasing arrangement for the Prospect Park Fair Grounds Trotting Track which they operated so successfully that they decided to build their own racing facility. In 1887 they established the Brooklyn Jockey Club which built and operated the Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend on Coney Island, New York. Philip Dwyer was the controlling shareholder of the Brooklyn Jockey Club, and served as its president.
Following the 1904 death of Thomas Reilly, founding president of the Queens County Jockey Club, Philip Dwyer acquired a large shareholding of the company that owned and operated Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. As president of the Aqueduct track, a position he held until his death in 1917, Philip Dwyer purchased additional land, increased the track's circumference, and rebuilt the viewing stands. His efforts helped make the very profitable racetrack a major New York City racing center.
On August 21, 1913 Philip Dwyer and fellow New Yorker James Butler acquired control of the Laurel Park Racecourse in Maryland and hired Matt Winn to manage the operation.
Read more about this topic: Philip J. Dwyer
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