A Legacy For The Ages- How The Home Of The Queen’s Cup Steeplechase Came To Be
by Colleen Guilfoile Richmond
Just outside of Charlotte, in Mineral Springs, North Carolina there’s a vast and verdant piece of countryside where flora and fauna roam freely. Some thirty years ago, this land may have become a casualty of “little boxes on a hillside” as Malvina Reynolds wrote about way back in 1962 had it not been for a promise Bill Price made to his kids. It’s the site where every spring more than 15,000 spectators dawn their finest for The Queen’s Cup Steeplechase. While there’s many Queen’s Cup memories etched in the minds and hearts of many, the gracious legacy of the land itself Price treasures most.
The day I met Bill Price was the day I knew what nirvana must feel like. He showed me around his slice of heaven and pointed to the vibrant pastures where all the deer and retired horses were living it up better than The Queen Mother herself. On this day I felt a whole new appreciation for not only the sport, but also the importance of protecting one of our remaining vital resources –– wide open spaces.
When Price started looking for land, his plan was always to have a proper site for a new steeplechase. His father shared an investment with him of $1,000,000 for the initial purchase of the land. But, they actually had to put another $1.5 million into the land and track. The land had been cleared, but in addition to stump removal they had to move a lot of earth for what would become one of the safest steeplechase tracks in America. I truly had a hard time keeping my jaw from grazing the ground the first time I laid eyes upon the majesty of it all.
Shortly after Price bought the land, everyone was quite disappointed because builders were chomping at the bit to put homes on it as he remembered. He actually got a call from a prominent Charlotte individual who will remain nameless according to Price. But in the most distinct North Carolina drawl Price recalled him asking, “Bill, what you gonna do with that land?” Upon his brief phone encounter, the man responded, “I’d like to meet with you.”
You might be spot on if you feel a “devil in a blue dress” scenario in the making with such a proposed gentleman’s agreement. But, Price was confident in his strategy. They met in the Winn Dixie parking lot that day where the land baron rolled down his window and directed Price to “get in my car.”
I’m not going to lie, as Price was telling me this story, visions of Scorsese screenplays danced in my head.
Price got in that car where the mystery man promptly offered him double what he paid for on the spot for his 260 acres of dirt and trees. But, Price countered with the fact that the land was not for sale and was confused as to why the baron didn’t want the land prior. “Well, before you bought it, I didn’t think it was worth anything,” the man explained.
So, is it true that the market will only bare what the market demands?
Two years later after the Queen’s Cup held an open house to show-off the newly finished racecourse, another offer came through a realtor offering over $10 million. Ecstatic, Price went
home that evening, sat down at the dinner table, and proceeded to regale his family with their possible new attainment of fortune. It was his son, Jamey, who rained upon Price’s parade with, “Daddy, you told us this wasn’t about money!” Price remembers his pre-teen first begotten running up the stairs with conviction. Salt was added to the wound when his daughter Brent followed her big brother upstairs crying, “Yeah!” Sheepishly laughing at this point in the story, his wife Carrington gave him the final blow, “Well, what you gonna do now big boy?”
Out of the mouths of babes is where the truth lies as it were and almost always, for that matter. As it turned out, the market had absolutely nothing to do with this legendary story.
To this day the land remains in the Price’s stewardship and will continue in a responsible fashion well beyond his lifetime thanks to the Catawba Lands Conservancy (CLC) which currently protects more than 165 properties totaling more than 15,000 acres of land for public benefit .
Upon completion of the track, Price’s parents Midge & Jim stopped by on their way from Florida to their Maryland home. As an investment banker, Jim wanted a return on that original $1,000,000 like any professional would. He had envisioned homes on the other side of the track. So, Price took his father out to the overlook and showed him the amazing view, “Dad, can you imagine homes on the other side of the racecourse?” Price was so proud to hear his father agree that day that his idyllic view would never be clouded. Even after the conservancy plans, his father reported not one regret as a tearful Price recanted with pure joy.
According to the American Farmland Trust, an astounding 175 acres of farmland currently diminishes hourly due to development in this country. Coupled with the CLC’s work to protect watersheds, wildlife and the likes, the Price family valiantly did their part to preserve North Carolina’s pristine land. While food may not be grown on this particular stretch, they continue to feed their community in such allegorical ways.
It’s only one day a year that other feet touch this hallowed ground now. And, while some day many speculate Charlotte sprawl will encapsulate the area, the Price have created their own version of New York’s iconic Central Park with CLC’s protective support.
The first race on the Price’s land happened in 2000, five years after the official Queen’s Cup Steeplechase’s inaugural run in 1995. Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, portions of the race’s proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. A nonprofit but very dear to the Price’s heart as Alzheimer’s disease eventually robbed his family of his father.
Want to “experience the thrill of the chase” on April 25, 2020 at the 25th Queen’s Cup Steeplechase? Go to queenscup.org for more information. If you’re curious about how to get involved with the Catawba Lands Conservancy, catawbalands.org is the ticket. And, considering nearly 6 million Americans currently are living with Alzheimer’s, the folks at alz.org can help you know the facts and how you can do your part in finding the cure.
