An extraordinary Baker’s Pacers coin-operated horse racing machine produced by the Baker Novelty and Manufacturing Company of Chicago. Known as a “long case” model, this elegant machine allows a customer to place nickel bets on up to seven mechanical horses in a short track race. Odds on each horse and the daily double are displayed at the end of the track, so simply place your bets and push the lever to start the race. Colorful and exciting, this machine is expertly constructed and in perfect working condition, allowing the history of mechanical gaming to come alive. What’s more, the fully restored mechanics of this exciting machine can be viewed through the beveled glass side door.
The Baker Novelty and Manufacturing Company was founded in 1938 by Harold L. Baker, the former vice-president and one of the chief creative minds of the Pace Manufacturing Company. Baker, along with owner Ed Pace, had been instrumental in the development of Pace’s innovative Paces Races pneumatic racing game. Introduced in 1934, Pace’s horse racing machine signaled the beginning of a craze that lasted into 1951. Leaving Pace in 1938 to form his own company, Baker advertised his burgeoning company as the “Headquarter for parts and service for PACES RACES.” Baker soon developed Baker’s Pacers, which vastly improved upon the Pace machine in terms of speed.
