by Mike Bozich, for Harrah’s Philadelphia

Chester, PA — Harrah’s Philadelphia’s Friday Night Summer Series continues on July 14 with evening programs named after legendary racetracks of the Delaware Valley.

Liberty Bell Park (July 14) was located in Northeast Philadelphia, and held harness and Thoroughbred racing from 1963 until 1986. Liberty Bell quickly became a premier harness track on the east coast, until it closed in 1986.

Friday night (Aug. 11) will be named after Garden State Park which raced harness and Thoroughbreds until 2001. The track was located in Cherry Hill, N.J. Garden State Park opened on July 7, 1942 and in 1977 the racetrack burned down, but was rebuilt as the nation’s most state-of-the-art grandstand in 1985.

On Sept. 8, Harrah’s Philly will honor the memory of Brandywine Raceway. The Wilmington, Del., oval was a top tier five-eighths-mile harness track that formed a racing circuit with Liberty Bell Park. The track opened in 1953 and closed in 1989.

Harrah’s Philadelphia’s start time will be 6:30 p.m. (EDT) for each of the three Friday nights. There will be family friendly activities, and memories geared towards the theme of the evening.