Historic St. Petersburg dog track sold

The St. Petersburg Kennel Club, which operates the historic Derby Lane, has merged with a private equity firm named Rally Acquisition and taken a $58.25 million mortgage on the Gandy Boulevard track.

Details of the deal were not disclosed, but records from the state’s Division of Corporations and Pinellas County show the two transactions.

Scott Esterbrook, a Philadelphia attorney listed in merger paperwork filed with the state, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Esterbrook did tell the Tampa Bay Times that the deal was a sale of Derby Lane to a Connecticut private equity firm.

Derby Lane, known today as Win! Derby, is a historic 130-acre former greyhound track in St. Petersburg just off the Gandy Bridge.

The track was built in the early 1920s after a lumber entrepreneur named T.L. Weaver sold land to a group of local businessmen. According to a history of the track on Win! Derby’s website, when the businessmen couldn’t pay their debt, they handed the property back to Weaver.

The first race ran Jan. 3, 1925.

During its heyday Derby Lane drew celebrities and locals alike, and for decades it was a major attraction on Florida’s popular greyhound racing circuit. This was a time when a good weekend in Florida meant spending Friday and Saturday nights visiting the track or a jai alai fronton.

Derby Lane drew its biggest crowd in 1986 when 12,779 people came out to watch one of the most popular greyhounds in the country at the time — Keefer — race.

But greyhound racing began to fall out of favor in the state and on Nov. 6, 2018, voters overwhelmingly — 69.06% — supported a constitutional amendment to ban the sport.

Today, Win! Derby features table games, simulcast wagering and food.

As for what happens next at the track, that is unclear for now.

Pinellas records show a demolition permit was applied for in February, but it is “awaiting applicant action.”