A Seattle native, Joe Gottstein was the only son of Polish immigrants. After attending Brown University, he returned to Seattle and became a true pioneer in this city’s real estate development. Gottstein’s father had given him his first race horse at the age of eight, but The Meadows, Washington’s first major race track, had been closed in 1903 by the anti-gambling furor. In 1922, Gottstein began to campaign for legislation that would legalize racing once again and in 1933, when House Bill 59 was signed into law, he was ready to bring his dream to life. Thg original Longacres grandstand and track were built in only 28 days. From the opening day at Longacres, exactly 70 years ago last month (8/3/33), until his death from cancer at age 79, Gottstein’s vision ensured the success of racing in Washington. He inaugurated the Longacres Mile in 1935 with a $10,000 purse – an enormous sum of money at that time. In 1940, Gottstein started a grass roots campaign among breeders, which led to the formation of the Washington Horse Breeders Association.
Read the expanded profile in the WASHINGTON THOROUGHBRED MAGAZINE, May 2005, page 372.
