History of Andrews Park in Gardner
Gardner’s legacy of horses and racing dates to the 1870s.
Local physician Dr. Robert Foster Andrews created what was then called Andrews Park on the site of the current site managed by GAAHMA, Inc.
The first horse race held sponsored by the Gardner Driving Park Association was on Saturday, September 26, 1875, with more than 600 attendees.
Andrews Park was the site of the Mid-State Fair held every year until August 1924.
The Gardner Agricultural Society and the Gardner Chamber of Commerce started the Agricultural Fair over Columbus Day Weekend, featuring livestock shows featuring cattle, horses and poultry, agricultural and horticultural exhibits, horse pulls, track and field events, and horse racings.
In the 1920s, the Gardner Chamber of Commerce expanded grandstand to hold 750 people and built a dance hall at Andrews Park.
Gardner Raceways held an eight-race matinee sponsored by the Gardner Horsemen Association with 1,000 attendees in 1953. This was the first horse race in 25 years.
In 1958, Andrews Park was sold to a new group of investors who built a barn for 20 horses, and brought back harness racing and county fairs. On May 26, 1958, they held their first 8 race matinee.
In the mid-1970s Leonard LeBlanc began renting the stalls, housing up to 25 horses, that were trained and raced at the track. LeBlanc was one of the top trainers in New England at the time. When LeBlanc died in 2019, the property was purchased by the Gardner Athol Area Mental Health Association (GAAMHA) to maintain as a functioning farm and treatment center.