Walter Barrett’s self-published book on the Readville Trotting Park presents a lesson that needs to be learned by both proponents and opponents to ensuring that harness racing will exist for future generations. As Richard Grant stated in his recollections of the Readville Trotting Park — “The track is gone, the barns and other buildings have long since been torn down, the horses have gone to the boneyard, even the men who trained and drove them have vanished into eternity. All that is left is this long, straight line of waving grain to remind an observant old timer of Readville’s glory days when people really enjoyed living, had more time for fun and friendship, an era that survives today only in memory.
