Sportsman's Hill was the site of one of the earliest circular racetracks, built about 1780 by Col. Wm. Whitley on his estate. Crowds gathered within the half-mile track so they could see the entire race. A fervent patriot, Whitley made the track unlike British ones by using clay instead of turf and by running races counter-clockwise instead of clockwise. Racing here ended with the Civil War. The Whitley House, built in 1785 on the Wilderness Road, was the first brick house in Ky. It was situated so the racetrack was visible from it. Meetings were held there in the fall, bringing the elite of the region, and after races that started at dawn, a lavish breakfast was served. Whitley was born in Va. in 1749, became a famed Indian fighter, and was killed at the Battle of the Thames in Canada in 1813. Whitley County, Ky., was named for him.