When Kings Island was being prepared for its 1972 opening, The Racer gave the new Mason park a grand wooden centerpiece in Coney Mall. Its twin course carried forward the old pleasure-park idea of the public race, set out here on a broad Ohio midway with room for two trains to answer one another. en.wikipedia.org· coasterpedia.net

John C. Allen of Philadelphia Toboggan Company supplied the design, and the ride opened as a large, balanced piece of timber engineering: 26.8 metres high, 85 km/h at full pace, and no inversions. Its $1.2 million cost made it one of the park’s proud original investments. en.wikipedia.org· kicentral.com

The Racer soon gained a reputation beyond the park gates. Sources credit it with helping begin the second golden age of the roller coaster, and in 1982 one side was turned to run backwards, making a fresh spectacle of the old race until forward operation returned in 2008. ultimaterollercoaster.com· coasterpedia.net

Its place in coaster history was formally recognized in 2007 with an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark designation. Later care has kept the old racer in service, including retracking work noted by Coasterpedia and a 2021 Gravity Group installation of engineered precut wooden track. coasterpedia.net· thegravitygroup.com