Last Friday, Brian Turnbull had just finished securing a dinner reservation for 16 people at Northville Downs when he began reminiscing about the racetrack’s gilded age.
“Every night, every [parking] spot was taken,” he said. “It was like going to a Michigan football game. In its heyday, the track would double the population every day in Northville.”
Those days are long gone for Michigan’s last remaining horse track. And after a slate of races on Nov. 25, live harness racing at Northville Downs will cease to exist entirely — at least in the city of Northville, where Turnbull now serves as mayor.
