A quieter and more secure future for Lime Rock Park

LIME ROCK — In March, Lime Rock Park (LRP) owner Skip Barber reached an agreement to sell a majority interest in the race track to a group of investors.

This group, led by Dicky Riegel, Charles Mallory and Bill Rueckert, “are the right guys,” Barber said.

Riegel is the former president and CEO of Airstream and is chair of the Board of Trustees at Salisbury School; Mallory is the founder of the Greenwich Hospitality Group; Rueckert is chair of the Board of Trustees of Teachers College at Columbia University.

All three are frequent users of Lime Rock Park — a fact not lost on Barber.

“I became concerned seven or eight years ago about who would be the steward of Lime Rock Park down the road,” he said.

Riegel, the new LRP chief executive officer, gave the Salisbury Planning and Zoning Commission an outline of future plans for the track at the commission’s Aug. 16 meeting (held online).

He began by saying that the new ownership team wishes to establish a good working relationship with the town and the commission.

He said LRP would address ongoing noise concerns from the Lime Rock Citizens Council. He also said LRP is working with the State Police and the town to address speeding on local roads.

Riegel said the new ownership wishes to expand the activities at Lime Rock Park, with an emphasis on the word “park.”

Riegel cited the 2022 Trade Secrets, an annual fundraising event for Women’s Support Services, as an example of an activity that is not related to motor sports.

He said the track will submit an application to build an “events chalet” that will be better suited for indoor events.

Also in the works are plans to expand the infield kitchen, which will replace the outfield kitchen and eliminate the need to cook food in the outfield kitchen and then drive it around to the infield.

In the B Paddock, LRP plans to build garages, which will reduce the number of vehicles arriving by trailer for racing events.

Further down the road are plans for a “hospitality area” in the outfield, with a hotel, dining and a museum.

Riegel said the ultimate goal is to make LRP a four-season tourist destination.

Dicky Riegel, at right in photo, is part of a new ownership group that purchased Lime Rock Park from owner Skip Barber, who is at left in this photo from last spring. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

The Historic Festival over Labor Day weekend is one of the highlights of the season at Lime Rock Park. Photo by Lans Christensen

Dicky Riegel, at right in photo, is part of a new ownership group that purchased Lime Rock Park from owner Skip Barber, who is at left in this photo from last spring. Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan
Related Articles Around the Web

Latest News

Pine Plains Planning Board approves waiver for proposed dispensary

Planning Board members granted a waiver to the proposed cannabis dispensary located in the historic weigh station on Route 82 allowing the business to operate within 300 feet of the firehouse and the Post Office in contradiction with Pine Plains's local law. Town attorney Warren Replansky explained the town's codes would likely be unenforceable following legal decisions handed down by the Office of Cannabis Management on Monday, Oct. 6.

Photo by Nathan Miller

PINE PLAINS — Members of the Planning Board voted unanimously to grant a waiver to Upstate Pines allowing the cannabis dispensary to operate within 300 feet of the firehouse and the Post Office at their regular meeting Wednesday, Oct. 8.

That vote came after Planning Board attorney Warren Replansky explained recent state guidance superceded the town’s ability to restrict the business on the grounds of its proximity to the Post Office and the firehouse.

Keep ReadingShow less
Packed house hears Hitchcock estate golf course pre-application

Dozens of people crowded into the courthouse at the Washington Town Hall on Reservoir Drive in Millbrook on Tuesday, Oct. 7, to watch a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC. David Blatt and Henry Hay of Centaur Properties LLC described their plan to build an 18-hole golf course with limited membership and residences on the historic 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.

Photo by Nathan Miller
"This is nothing like Silo Ridge," said Centaur Properties co-founder Henry Hay. "This is Buckingham Palace to a craphouse. It's completely different. It's much higher quality."

MILLBROOK — Dozens of residents of the Town of Washington packed into the courtroom in Town Hall on Reservoir Drive for a standing-room-only regular meeting of the Planning Board on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Well over three-quarters of the crowd were there to listen in to a pre-application meeting between Planning Board members and representatives of Centaur Properties LLC, a New York City-based development company that’s proposing an 18-hole golf course, equestrian facilities and luxury residential development on the 2,000-acre Hitchcock estate.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stanford home market sees nine sales in July and August

Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.

Christine Bates

STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.

At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Report
Village of Millerton offices on Route 22
John Coston

Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity reportSept. 18 to Sept. 30.

Sept. 23 — Deputies responded to 1542 State Route 292 in the Town of Pawling for the report of a suspicious vehicle at that location. Investigation resulted in the arrest of Sebastian Quiroga, age 26, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. Quiroga to appear in the Town of Pawling court at a later date.

Keep ReadingShow less