Pinkstaff Race Track
W O Pinkstaff trained his harness horses on the Pinkstaff Racetrack in the 1880’s. Clayton Cole owned a lot of property adjacent to Pinkstaff’s tract and trained some of Pinkstaff’s horses as well as one for the Warner’s named ‘Moonbeam’ and his one named ‘Captain Dudley’. Both horses later sold for $10,000.
Later Clayton’s son, Marion F Cole, became an outstanding runner at Lawrenceville High School and Illinois State University. He earned the name Champ by winning back to back Illinois State Championships in the 880 yd. dash. One of his state records has not been broken as of his death in 2014. His success on the track earned him a scholarship to attend Illinois State University. He was captain of the track and cross country teams, and inducted into both his High School and College Hall of Fame in their inaugural classes.