Arlington Downs

Arlington Downs, a 1¼-mile track with a 6,000-seat grandstand, opened on November 1, 1929, under the guidance of oil and cattle magnate William T. Waggoner. The track was located on his "Three D" stock farm half-way between Dallas and Fort Worth near Arlington, and the construction cost was nearly $3 million. All of this endeavor was a gamble for the millionaire since pari-mutuel betting, the largest income-producing aspect of horse racing, was illegal at the time of the track's opening. By use of his facility for prize races and for local civic events, Waggoner endeared himself and his track to the local citizenry. Simultaneously, the racing entrepreneur was spending thousands lobbying Austin for legalization of pari-mutuel wagering.

Although lawmakers were unsuccessful in their attempts to pass legislation in support of Waggoner's gamble, a test case arose when two racegoers, O. O. Franklin and J. B. Coulter, were arrested at Arlington Downs in the fall of 1931 for openly betting on the races. The resulting publicity and court case allowed racing proponents to make their case public. In 1933 the Texas legislature legalized pari-mutuel; it issued the first permit to a hastily expanded and remodeled Arlington Downs.