Rosecroft Raceway
Rosecroft Raceway, nicknamed the "Raceway by the Beltway" for being close to Interstate 495, is a harness racing track in Fort Washington, Maryland. It first opened in 1949 and was owned by William E. Miller, a horse trainer and breeder. Rosecroft quickly became Prince George's County's political and social center, drawing thousands of people there each racing day. In the early 1950s, average attendance was more than 7,000 per day. After Miller died in 1954, his son John owned Rosecroft until his death in 1969. Rosecroft hosted memorial stake races annually for both William and John until 1995. Following the death of John Miller, Earle Brown controlled operations until he moved to a different position in 1980; William E. Miller II took over following Brown.
Rosecroft was sold to Mark Vogel in 1987. Vogel made several mistakes that hurt the horse racing industry in Maryland. Three years later, he was arrested for possession of cocaine, and his company went into bankruptcy. Rosecroft was sold to Weisman's Colt Enterprises in 1991. In that same year, the grandstand caught fire and was reconstructed in 1993 for $3.6 million. In 1995, after losing millions, the relatives of Weisman sold Rosecroft to Cloverleaf Enterprises. In the 2000s, Cloverleaf attempted to sell Rosecroft multiple times, but due to lawsuits and politics, all the potential buyers became uninterested. Nearby states legalized casinos to help their racetracks. Money generated from the casinos was used to increase the purses and handle (daily betting turnover), and Rosecroft was unable to produce the same amount of money. After filing for bankruptcy once again, Rosecroft Raceway closed down in 2010. The next year, Penn National Gaming purchased the racetrack with the hope to make it a racino, and Rosecroft reopened in 2011.
Rosecroft (San Diego)
Rosecroft is a historic estate and gardens in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was built in 1912 by architect Emmor Brooke Weaver for wealthy heiress Marion James Robinson, née Marion James Duncan (1873-1918), and her husband Alfred D. Robinson (1866-1942), a retired medical instrument merchant. Rosecroft is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 15,000-square-foot, Italian Renaissance style mansion, located on Silvergate Avenue in the Wooded Area of Point Loma, sits on 2.5 acres and is considered the largest parcel in the area. The property was originally 10 acres of barley fields. The Robinsons bought the property in 1903 after becoming interested in the ideas of Theosophist Katherine Tingley, who was developing a utopian community "Lomaland" in the Point Loma area. They developed the fields into half a city block of gardens, where they cultivated various ornamental plants, particularly begonias. Marion named the property "Rosecroft" in recognition of her Scottish Highland ancestry.
Podcasts:
