Beulah Park racetrack in Grove City has been vacant since it closed for good in 2014. But as jockeys packed their bags, horses trotted elsewhere and decaying buildings came tumbling down, a champion of Ohio horse racing remained in the now-overgrown infield.

Glacial Princess, Ohio's winningest racehorse, was ceremoniously buried there 30 years ago, not far from the finish line that she often crossed ahead of all others.

A headstone on the right side of the tote board, visible from the grandstand, served as a tribute to the legacy of Ohio's "Iron Lady."

An Ohio racing enthusiast and his helpers were determined to exhume her after the site was sold and primed for development. They planned to relocate the champion's remains to the nonprofit Old Friends thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, so she could rest peacefully when construction begins.

But after hours of digging Saturday, the group found no trace of her. It's possible the remains deteriorated, they said.

They found a railroad spike, the remains of a small dog wrapped in a blanket, and a race ticket believed to be from the 1930s. Ultimately, after excavating a good portion of the infield, they decided that Glacial Princess will remain permanently at rest at the track where her impressive career began and ended.

"It's definitely disappointing, but we're still going to memorialize her, not let her memory just fade into the past," said Ryan Brady, 31, of Elyria in northeastern Ohio, the racing fan and horse owner who led the effort.

Glacial Princess was bought at Beulah Park as a yearling, and she was euthanized there in 1987 at age 6 after suffering a broken leg in the Ballerina Stakes.

The park was Ohio's first thoroughbred track when it opened in 1923.

Brady collected pieces of the winner's circle, the old ticket, some dirt from the finish line and the horse's burial site and placed it in a tote to send to Old Friends. Glacial Princess' former owner, John Graver of Marion, will ship her headstone there, too, and Brady plans to send red carnations, Ohio's state flower.

Brady never saw Glacial Princess race, but he heard plenty of tales about the lightning-fast, steel-gray mare who routinely beat the boys. When the track closed, he feared that her grave might be disrespected.

"I kept thinking, 'This champion can't have a parking lot paved over her,'" Brady said.

Deanna Grimstead, assistant professor of anthropology at Ohio State University, led Saturday's dig with seven students. John Queen of Richwood, Brady's friend and a fellow racing enthusiast, brought the backhoe.

Work has begun to redevelop the 210-acre Beulah Park site into houses, apartments and commercial space. A sizable park commemorating Grove City's racing history also is planned, and preliminary renderings show it encompassing Glacial Princess' grave, meaning that her remains won't be disturbed.

A development plan could be finalized in the next few months, Grove City Administrator Chuck Boso said.

Due to conflicting information, it's unclear whether Glacial Princess was buried whole. Traditionally, only a racehorse's head, hooves and heart are buried, and the rest of the animal is cremated. A whole burial is a high honor.

Although Glacial Princess didn't have much of a national following, her dominance is well-known among Ohio's racing community. She was named Ohio Horse of the Year in 1985 and 1986. Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course near Youngstown still hosts the Glacial Princess Stakes, a race that was hosted at Beulah Park until it closed.

She won 27 of her 52 starts and earned nearly $550,000.

John Engelhardt, head of Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders & Owners, produced a 12-minute documentary about Glacial Princess.

"At the height of her game, it was 'catch me if you can' right out the gate," Engelhardt said.

awidmanneese@dispatch.com

@AlissaWidman