was fashionable for the social elite to maintain close ties to equestrian sports. Some owned Thoroughbreds and thus were members of the Washington Park Jockey Club. The track's clubhouse, which was completed in 1896, was designed by Solon Spencer Beman, and C. B. McDonald built a short nine-hole club members' golf course in the infield of the track. Major races Each June, the track sponsored the American Derby, which had a purse ranked among the highest in the country. When Washington Park Race Track first organized the American Derby in 1883, General Philip Sheridan served as its first President. By 1893, the American Derby was the 2nd richest American race in the 19th century. Both The American Derby and Opening Day (the first race of the season) became important social calendar dates. Residents of elite late 19th century neighborhoods organized a number of related public activities outside the track grounds, including the annual Washington Park Race Track opening day parade. Horse racing was not the only draw of the track. In 1900, a race was staged at the track between a gasoline-powered automobile and an electrically powered automobile. At the time, there were more electric cars in the country than gasoline-powered ones. The race in Chicago was the first time a gasoline-powered car beat an electric-powered one in a race. Decline and closure of the original track The track ran into difficulties when Hempstead Washburne was elected Mayor of Chicago in 1892. In 1893, he began a gambling reform campaign, which included a goal of closing all race tracks in Chicago. His campaign eventually resulted in the 1894 closure of Washington Park Race Track, although the track reopened in 1898. It remained open until 1905, when the state of Illinois banned gambling and stopped all horse racing. By that time, the prestige of the club had declined, independently of Washburne's reform movement, because more modern and spacious golf courses drew the members to other locations, and the residential dispersion of elite members from the community area made the club less important. However, the stables used by the track were not torn down and currently form a portion of the DuSable Museum of African-American History. New track In 1926, a second Washington Park Race Track opened up in south suburban Homewood. The new Washington Park Race Track was located west of Halsted Street just outside Homewood village bounds. The Illinois Central