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| The title "From Horse Race To Horsepower On Pennsylvania Avenue" evokes a grand sweep of American progress, one that leaps from the dusty tracks of the early republic to the thunderous roar of modern machinery tearing through the heart of the nation's capital. Image Graphic Credit: Edmund Jenks via GROK (2026) |
From Horse Race To Horsepower On Pennsylvania Avenue
In the sweltering summer of 1801, as the Federal City was still finding its
footing amid marshes and half-built monuments, President Thomas Jefferson -
ever the Enlightenment figure with a farmer's appreciation for fine horseflesh
- allegedly presided over or at least lent his prestige to a horse race in the
fledgling Washington. The anecdote, dusted off and polished for contemporary
telling, paints a scene of gentlemen in waistcoats and tricorn hats gathered
near the President's House, wagering on blooded steeds pounding turf that
would one day become Pennsylvania Avenue.
Whether the event was a formal meet
of the nascent Washington Jockey Club (founded just a few years prior) or a
more informal contest among the elite, the record is hazy. Primary sources
from the era mention racing enthusiasm in the district, with Jefferson himself
a known horseman who bred and rode mounts with care, but no definitive ledger
pins a singular "Jefferson-held" spectacle precisely to that year. Still, the
image endures: equine power symbolizing the raw, organic energy of a young
republic.
Fast-forward 225 years to January 30, 2026. President Donald Trump, flanked by
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and racing impresario Roger Penske, signed
an executive order launching the Freedom 250 Grand Prix ... an IndyCar street
race set for August 23, 2026, as the centerpiece of America250 celebrations
marking a quarter-millennium of independence.
Duffy, with characteristic flair, quipped that the last race in the capital
dated to 1801 under Jefferson - "a horse race" - before declaring, "Now we're
going to do a real race." The vision: open-wheel machines pushing toward 190
mph along routes embracing Pennsylvania Avenue and circling the National Mall,
engines howling past the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln
Memorial, and the White House itself.
This pivot from horsepower in the literal sense - living, breathing animals
bred for speed and stamina - to horsepower in the mechanical idiom -
turbocharged V6 hybrids unleashing 700+ ponies - encapsulates the arc of
American ingenuity. Jefferson's era prized the horse as transportation,
agriculture, status, and sport; the internal combustion engine, refined over
the 19th and 20th centuries, democratized mobility, fueled industrial might,
and birthed motor racing as a global spectacle. IndyCar, with its American
roots tracing to the Indianapolis 500, now carries that torch into the
symbolic core of the republic.
The proposed circuit promises drama: tight, high-speed sections demanding
precision braking and throttle control, all while federal landmarks stand
sentinel. Logistical hurdles loom—security perimeters, road closures,
congressional nods, coordination with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser—but the
administration frames it as pure patriotic theater: free admission for
spectators, a showcase of engineering prowess, and a nod to freedom's revving
spirit. "Freedom doesn’t ring, it revs," Duffy proclaimed in one enthusiastic
release.
Critics may see spectacle over substance, or question the wisdom of closing
the capital's arteries for a weekend of speed. Yet the contrast remains
irresistible. Where once a president watched Thoroughbreds thunder across open
ground in pursuit of glory and purse, now another envisions carbon-fiber
projectiles slicing the same vistas, their synthetic fury echoing through
marble corridors.
From horse race to horsepower on Pennsylvania Avenue: a reminder that
America's story is one of relentless acceleration - biological to mechanical,
agrarian to industrial, past to future - always chasing the next horizon at
ever-greater velocity. Whether the Freedom 250 ultimately thunders down the
avenue or settles into committee purgatory, the metaphor holds: progress
doesn't trot; it races.
With this title and information, ... notes from The EDJE author Edmund Jenks, decided to create
an SUNO AI generated song with the chorus and title of :
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| Click-Image - Launch Song - From Horse Race To Horsepower On Pennsylvania Avenue |
From Horse Race To Horsepower On Pennsylvania Avenue
LYRICS
Back in the dust, 1801 glow
Gentlemen wager, watch the stallions go
Jefferson smilin', reins in his hand
Hooves hittin' hard on this new promised land
Feel the thunder, feel the fire
From the old dirt track to the neon wire
From Horse Race to Horsepower on Pennsylvania Avenue
Engines screamin', revvin' through
From Horse Race to Horsepower on Pennsylvania Avenue
Drop it low, let the freedom ride, yeah we breakin' through!
Two centuries flip, now the asphalt burns
IndyCar lights flash, tires take their turn
White House watchin', monuments in the blur
700 horses roar, history's got the urge
Build it up, feel the chase
Old blood to chrome in this capital space
From Horse Race to Horsepower on Pennsylvania Avenue
Engines screamin', revvin' through
From Horse Race to Horsepower on Pennsylvania Avenue
Drop it low, let the freedom ride, yeah we breakin' through!
(Spoken/chanted over rising tension)
Hold up... feel that shift...
From the track to the strip...
One more time...
From Horse Race to Horsepower on Pennsylvania Avenue
(Yeah!) Engines screamin', revvin' through
From Horse Race to Horsepower on Pennsylvania Avenue
Drop it low, let the freedom ride - freedom ride - freedom ride!
FADE OUT
We, at Notes From The EDJE hope that there is a longer points paying run of the DCGP Freedom 250 than we witnessed at Nashville Streets, Baltimore, San Jose, and Thermal.
... notes from The EDJE
TAGS: #FromHorseRaceToHorsepower, #PennsylvaniaAvenue, #IndyCar, #Freedom250,
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#GrandPrix, #StreetRace, #DCGrandPrix, #IndyCarDC, #CapitalSpeed,
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#ChrisLakeStyle, #EDMVibes, #FestivalAnthem, #RacingAnthem, #PatrioticSpeed,
#EvolutionOfPower, #FromHoovesToEngines, #TheEDJE
