Kenilworth Park was located on the northwest corner of Niagara Falls Blvd. at the Kenmore Avenue intersection. It started life in 1903 as a 1 mile horse racing facility, but was converted to an auto racing track by 1904 when horse racing just didn't draw the crowds as were anticipated.
On Monday - August 15th, 1904: The Buffalo mayor F.L. Alliger was credited with a 2 mile win. Also on that day, Barney Oldfield set a new world speed record at the track, completing 25 laps with a time of 26:43. Oldfield also won easily in a 15 mile handicapped event. 5,000 people attended.
This is the car Barney Oldfield drove in 1904 at Kenilworth - a Peerless Green Dragon.
And on Friday - August 18th, 1905:
Several Niagara Falls residents were at the Kenilworth Park to witness the automobile races. Among them were B.F. Thurston and P.P. Pfohl. They saw Webb Jay, the Cleveland driver crash through the fence. Although the accident occured a considerable distance from the clubhouse, Thurston and Pfohl saw the car swerve and strike the fence, turning into the bed of a creek. Jay was thrown out and lay unconscious in the water, a badly used up piece of humanity. In an instant, the clubhouse and grandstand was in an uproar. Thousands plunged from their seats and dashed for the track. The club officials worked hard to keep people from the track, where the big cars were still racing at lightning speed. Jay was taken unconscious to the hospital, where investigation showed that his injuries consisted of a compound fracture of the left leg, a broken right arm, seven broken ribs, a probably puncture of the lungs, a very badly lacerated face, cut head and concussion of the brain.
It is widely believed that the New York State wagering commission was responsible for the end of racing at Kenilworth, however I've not been able to confirm that. I have found something completely different that suggests otherwise. It was actually the press that had a major problem with racing, and not just at Kenilworth. With drivers and spectators getting seriously hurt and killed, press members were calling out against unsafe racing conditions as far back as 1904. Their major complaint was that converted horse tracks didn't provide enough spectator safety, and that the cars themselves were unsafe to the drivers. While the popularity of auto racing was catching on like wild fire, the newspaper reviews of racing in the early days of racing was very critical against it. This cartoon and others like it appeared in many newspapers across the country...
While researching Kenilworth Park, I came across something else that is extremely interesting. Depending on where you look, some websites have mistakenly attributed Barney Oldfield as being the driver involved at the Syracuse Fairgrounds that killed 11 spectators on September 17th, 1911. It was
LEE OLDFIELD driving a Knox Racer that drove the car. Lee Oldfield blew a tire in the late stages of the event coming off turn 2 and crashed through the outside fence. This picture below is the only one I've ever seen of the crash...
Barney and Lee Oldfield were not related, but having the same last name isn't the only similarity between the two men. Lee Oldfield's crash killed 11 spectators and was national news at the time. It also remained on the books as the worst auto racing accident in American history through the '60s. But Lee wasn't the ONLY Oldfield involved in a fatal accident to spectators. Barney Oldfield was involved in a wreck in St. Louis, Mo. on August 29th, 1904 when he was blinded by dust. Oldfield suffered several broken ribs and lacerations after being ejected from is car, and 2 spectators were killed when the car crashed through a fence.
One more thing... Lee Oldfield's Knox Racer was green in color. Barney Oldfield drove a Peerless Green Dragon. And now you know where the association of green race cars and bad luck originated.