In The Ivy League It's 'The Race' In Ledyard, It's Boat Race Day

GALES FERRY, CT —Nutmeggers likely call the event the Yale-Harvard Regatta. Bay-Staters likely call it the Harvard-Yale Regatta. In Gales Ferry, for around the last century and-a-half, it's been known simply as Boat Race Day. The race is the oldest intercollegiate sporting event in the nation.

Known colloquially by Yale and Harvard as The Race, the event sees teams of rowers race down the Thames River, ending in Gales Ferry, a village in Ledyard. They've rowed the regatta on the Thames every year since 1878 save five, including 2020 and 2021, another event scuttled by the pandemic.

The town of Ledyard describes the history of Boat Race Day:

“Gales Ferry has long been home to the oldest intercollegiate athletic event in the nation. In 1878, Harvard and Yale Universities brought their established 4-mile rowing competition to the Thames, both crews boarding at local farms. The inaugural race drew 25,000 spectators. By 1925, when crowds reached 100,000, both teams had established permanent camps and boathouses. While interest has abated in recent years and spectator fleets diminished, each June the 2 crews return to the Thames for the annual event and ‘Boat Race Day’ is celebrated in Gales Ferry.”

This year, the 156th running, will be held June 10 on the Thames River, originally pre-17th century, the Pequot River. The four-mile regatta down the river, from New London to Gales Ferry, begins at 11 a.m.

Sweet Hill Farm at 39 Military Highway in Gales Ferry, described as the best spot from which to view the regatta, celebrates the event ancient American collegiate sporting event at Erickson Park.

Not affiliated with either Ivy League school, a race festival is produced by the town's Economic Development Commission, Parks & Recreation department, Gales Ferry District, and Ledyard Rotary and includes vendors, food trucks and family activities.