TROTTING TRACK

The first race day was held on August 4, 1907 by the Recklinghausen Racing Club. The first race on the Hillerheide was called the Jockey Chase Race. There was only one race day, on which only 18 horses started in five races. Nevertheless, there was already a totalizator on which bets could be placed on victory and place. In the late 1920s, the facility was converted to hold trotting races. The facility was operated by the Recklinghausen Trotting Club. The newly designed race track was inaugurated on October 20, 1929. At first, the races were held on a 1,500-meter-long grass track, which was converted into a 1,200-meter-long sand track in 1931. In 1950, a new grandstand building was built. The betting counters were in the basement, and the open grandstand was above. The first lighting system was also installed at the same time, so that events could also be held in the evening. In 1960, a three-story closed grandstand was opened to the north of the main grandstand. A single-story teahouse with an open-air terrace on the roof was added as a connection between the open main grandstand and the finish tower. With the introduction of the euro in 2002, the betting system had to be adapted. The minimum stake was €1.50, but was soon reduced to €1. Sales at the totalizator cash registers were declining. The Winter Favorite Prize, which had been run in Recklinghausen for many years, was moved to Gelsenkirchen in 2004. The last race for the time being started on Friday, October 27, 2006. The racecourse was closed due to the operator's insolvency. From then on, the racecourse grounds were only used as a training track. In 2010, members of the equestrian club and the stable community tried to revive racing at the facility. With a race day on Friday, July 9th, there were trotting races on the Hillerheide again after a four-year break. The first race was called The Legend Lives. Another event took place on Sunday, August 22nd with 11 races. That was the end of the trotting track in Recklinghausen. Since 2016, around 50 buildings have been demolished. Around 1,000 truckloads of material have been transported away. Now, in 2024, the small lake is being modelled. Later, between 800 and 1,000 residential units are to be built on the site.