POWNAL — Another potentially impactful auction of the former Green Mountain Race Track property has been scheduled at the site in January.
Mortgage-holder Bayview Loan Servicing LLC plans a real estate auction on January 7, 2026, beginning at 11 a.m. at the 144-acre property off Route 7, according to a posted notice.
The notice is related to a mortgage given by an investment group that purchased the former track property for $1 million from the late John Tietgens in 2004. The mortgage was later assigned to the Florida-based Bayview Loan Servicing.
The planned auction in January is being undertaken “by virtue and in execution of the power of sale contained in [the mortgage] for breach of the conditions of said mortgage and for the purpose of foreclosing … ,” according to the notice.
Tietgens, owner of a bus company based in Clarksburg, Massachusetts, had purchased the then-closed race track at auction in 1992 for $250,000 – a price far lower than expected.
The facility opened in 1963 as a thoroughbred and harness race track but had switched to greyhound racing in the 1970s, before closing for good in 1992 and being subsequently auctioned and purchased by Tietgens.
Tietgens, a horse owner, hoped to revive Green Mountain as a horse track, but several proposals put forth by him and potential investors never came to fruition.
One notable plan to create a Las Vegas-style casino and horse racing facility failed to win the support of many state officials – including then-Governor Howard Dean, who said it was not compatible with the image most Vermonters and visitors have of the Green Mountain State.
Development potential
Area planning officials have continued to see great potential for other types of economic development at the track site, which is roughly a mile from the Williamstown, Massachusetts, border and within reasonable driving distance of the Albany, New York, area.
“The BCRC will monitor the upcoming auction of the Green Mountain Race Track and, should the property transfer, will be available to assist in any possible redevelopment of the property,” Bill Colvin, director of the Bennington County Regional Commission, said Friday in an email.
He added, “The BCRC can provide economic and demographic data, access to prior regional studies and other information that might be helpful to a prospective developer and can make connections to possible funding sources and permitting guidance.”
“The former race track moved Pownal forward for many years, but it’s been holding us back for decades now,” said state Rep. Jonathan Cooper, whose House district includes a section of Pownal.
“It’s become a threat to public safety, and a barrier to local prosperity,” Cooper said of the property. “But it’s future is vital to Pownal’s future. I look forward to working with new ownership, town leadership, the railroad, and other partners to support creative and realistic options for a property with potential on both sides of the tracks.”
A PanAm Railway rail line runs along Route 7 in front of the track entrance.
Grandstand fire
Any new owner would have to deal with a number of site preparation or environmentally related issues, including a fire-gutted, 64,000-square-foot track grandstand, which has been the target of long-running efforts by the town of Pownal and state public safety officials who aim have the building secured or demolished.
An overnight blaze in September 2020 destroyed much of the interior of the vacant concrete block, steel and glass grandstand, which is located at the western edge of the former horse track oval, close to the Hoosic River.
State investigators determined that the likely cause of the fire was related to youths entering the vacant three-story grandstand to party, while apparently lighting campfires on the cement floors.
The structure has been open to the elements since that time and has become the target of several town and state attempts to have the owner either secure it from trespassers or have it demolished.
Simply demolishing the blackened grandstand could prove expensive for a new owner, with one estimate pegging the cost at more than $1 million.
The property was most recently owned by Stephen Soler, a partner with the original investment group, called Progress Partners Ltd., that purchased the site in 2004 from Tietgens.
In recent years, the track ownership entity has been called Green Mountain Race Track, LLC, with Soler as managing partner.
The former track property also is home to a 2.2-megawatt capacity solar array in a section of the former track horse barn area, which began producing power in 2013.
Pownal officials could not be reached Friday for comment on the auction posting.
Tietgens had purchased the property at auction after it had been owned for a number of years by the Rooney family — owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Palm Beach (Florida) Kennel Club.
The facility was constructed by an investment group for about $6 million in the early 1960s and opened for horse racing in 1963, originally considered a potential rival for Saratoga Race Track.
The Pownal track was sold to the Rooneys in 1973 for $8.5 million.