Jan. 2014 Archives
Subscribe to our NewsletterJanuary 2014 Archives
The following items are listed below as they appeared on this website during the months of January 2014 .To view each item, simply scroll down the page and it will appear in the order shown .
1. Twenty Years Ago - Camluck Has Bright Future
2. Remembering Earle Avery and Meadow Skipper
3. 60 Years Ago _Dufferin Park
4. Winter Racing Comes To Greenwood - 1966
5. Don McNiven Passes
6. A Close Call
7. Remembering Jack Mehlenbacher
Twenty Years Ago - New Sire Has Bright Future
January 1, 2014
Looking Back Twenty Years Ago -1994
Broodmare owners are fortunate to have another young up and coming stallion standing in Ontario ,and at a reasonable fee . Unlike many other successful racehorses from the recent past who have been shipped to the U.S., the young sire CAMLUCK is staying near home .
The aspiring son of Cam Fella out of the $ 597,000 winner Lucky Lady, is standing at The Seelster Farm in Lucan Ont. and his fee for the 1994 season is set at $ 4,000 . Foals will be eligible to multiple stakes programs including the O.S.S. ,Cadillac Breeders Crown and Can. Breeders Championship .
Trainer Bob McIntosh, the man who handled Camluck throughout his entire racing career ,predicts a rosy future for the horse as a sire . In a recent statement he said " The farther he raced the better he got .He was one of the soundest horses in the barn. I feel he has a real future as a stallion " .
In an illustrious racing career, Camluck earned over one million dollars and took a mark of 1:52.4 at three ;1:50.4 at age four and time trialled in 1:48.4 . In his career, he paced 53 starts in 1:55 or faster .To his credit go victories in the Breeders Crown, Provincial Cup,McFarlane Memorial and the Stewart Fraser Memorial .
Photo of Camluck by Monica Thors
60 Years Ago - Dufferin Park Opens The New Season
January 18, 2014
This old photo shows the finish of a race at Dufferin Park taken in 1949 .The track was nestled among a city neighbourhood on Dufferin Street between College and Bloor .
Note : Readers Comments appear at the bottom of the story
Sixty years ago on January 1,1954 the harness racing season in Canada officially began as it had so many times before . With a large crowd on hand braving the winter weather ,Dufferin Park in Toronto opened the new season .The occasion went on just as any winter race day as the over four month season passed its midway point .
That season of 1953-54, the Dufferin opening was held on November 18 when a field of horses went to the post for a purse of $200 .In a short 2 minutes and twenty seconds, the winning horse Gerry Belwin was in the winners circle for owners Evans and Fraser of Brantford ,driven by Dick Johnson . Later in the afternoon the same owners had a double heat winner as Keith Waples scored with Richard Hal D.
The races continued through to closing day on March 20th .While it may not have been known at the time ,the fabled Dufferin Park closed the following year in March of 1955 .The old race course and all of the structures associated with it were soon demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall .Yet another symbol of the 'Old Days' passed into history .
On New Years day January 1,1954 a total of 10 heats of racing were held with the format of the first two races going a single heat and the next 4 were double dashes .The two opening single dash events each went for a purse of $200 .
The afternoon's featured race was a AA Pace for a purse of $ 500 which attracted 8 starters . The winner of both heats was Handy Flash ,an 8 year old gelding owned by the Verhurst family of Rochester New York and driven by the meeting's top driver Bud Gilmour .Times for the wins were 2:20 1/5 in the first and 2:18 in the second . This horse's connections were the same folks who became famous in the sport a decade earlier with their world famous mare Proximity .
Pictured above is driver Wilmer Hillock truly an oldtimer in Canadian Harness Racing .He appeared at Dufferin Park for decades and during the summer raced at many U.S. and Canadian tracks .During this winter he handled Thomas Hat owned by Londoner Alex Parsons ,one of the better class horses then racing .On several occasions he battled in the top class with a Quebec favourite Bandleader driven by Jimmy Larente (Harness Horse photo)
The Drivers Colony
Wm. "Bud" Gilmour led all drivers in races won at the 1953-54 Dufferin Park winter meeting . A very young horseman who did not turn 22 until July of 1954, he was already a Nationally known driver .
A partial list of the driver's colony that season included (in alphabetic order) -Ralph Babbin, Jack Bannerman,Real Bardier,Bob Bomar,Albert Boucher,K Buel,Russ & Pem Caldwell,Cliff Chapman Sr.,David Claveau,Don Corbett,Jimmy Cruise,Max Featherstone, Dr. John Findley,Roy Gartley,Sonny Geisel,Bud Gilmour,Bob Givens,Jack Gordon,Bill Habkirk,Albert Hanna,Homer Harp,Paul Hebert,Gerald Hess,Wilmer Hillock,Joe Hodgins,Almer Holmes,Barney Hughes,Harry Ingles, Lew James,Gordon Kitchen,Jimmy Larente,Honorat Larochelle,Vic Lutman,Frenchy Leboeuf,Vic Lutman,Harold McKinley, Hugh McLean,Neil McRann,Jack Mehlenbacher,John Millman,Floyd Milton,Sibley Nott,Alex Page,Percy Robillard,Fred Roloson,Les Slack,Vern Soper,Red Tilden,Theo Turcotte,Vern Waddell,Allan Walker,Keith Waples,Malcolm Weaver,Mildred Williams,Johnny Zeron . Among the younger drivers was Jimmy Hammond who had a stable of horses owned by Litt and Wellwood of Stratford,in this his first winter of driving at Dufferin .
Although some horses shipped in , many were stabled at Dufferin for the winter . Horsemen from a wide range competed there ,including those from Ontario,Quebec,Nova Scotia ,Manitoba and New Brunswick . U.S. based stables from Michigan,Ohio,New York,Maine and New Jersey were on hand .A number of the more prosperous horsemen stayed at boarding houses in the nearby area ;others toughed it out in the" breezy" old tackrooms . Many tales were told, including using a blanket to slow down the drifting of snow under the door .
This old photo finish shot shows that drivers were more about trying to stay warm than about being dressed in the latest fashion .(Authors Collection)
I sometimes think we could do with a bit more of the Dufferin era . A time when the sport was much simpler and more about what it was intended to be .The backstretch was filled with a cast of characters never found anywhere else in recorded history . I can recall many conversations with my late father who often frequented the place and at times raced the odd horse there . He said that at the time it was operating that people knew that it was a unique show ,one that would never again be duplicated . Still somehow it had outlived its time and purpose ,it just had run its course . Once gone it could never be repeated .
As we now look back those 60 odd years the mention of Dufferin conjures up a special memory . Today the list of those who actually remember it grows ever shorter . An even smaller cast contains the precious few who raced there .
If you have a comment to add send it to oldrecollections@gmail.com
Robert:
Again, your Recollections story on old Dufferin Park brought back memories for me. I dug out my ORC groom's licences from 1954 and 1955 which I received for $2.00 at Dufferin and recalled those times. The pay was $50. a week, and you worked seven days a week, but you could get a good meal under the old grandstand for 50 cents. The ORC office was a double vacant stall fixed up to accommodate Commission clerk Jim Irvine, who made sure everyone was licensed. Centrefield Willie was the resident bootlegger and Buddy Gilmour was fearless driving in the muddy track conditions.
It was a different time.
bill Galvin
Readers Comments :
Hi Robert :
Great article about Dufferin Park !!
I wasn't there in 1953 or for the winter of '54 as I started college in Toronto in Sept. 1954 but I sure went to a lot of races at Dufferin that fall and over the winter of '55 ! Alan Pacey was another that was there then ( I don't know about 53-54) but I played hooky many afternoons that fall and winter and rode the Harbord car out to Bloor and Dufferin to walk down to the track to watch Alan race Alayne Regent for Bob Polk or Country Lad for Garnie Kilpatrick ! If I remember correctly ,Tuesdays were "Ladies Days" when all the ladies got Free Admission !
Cliff Chapman Sr's house overlooked the backstretch and he had a viewing stand on the roof where you could sit and watch the races .Cliff Jr. "Chappie" was one of the Bookmakers in the betting shed ! That's where I first met Chappie ! And it was cozy under the grandstand with all the roaring wood fires in the big old stoves .There was a Public school right next to the track and when school got out there were many kids that snuck in .It was quite common to have a 13 year old come up to say "Sir would you buy (or cash) a ticket for me ? And they were mostly better handicappers than me !
Over the years I met a lot of drivers in your list including Wilmer Hillock who often came to Belleville for some reason . Bob Givens wintered at Belleville a few years with Alan Pacey , Vern Waddell and Morley Fleet .Bob later worked as a starter for Art Whitesell at a lot of Southern Ontario Fairs .
Keep these SUPER articles coming ..eh ?
From Phil Stewart
As one who attended the races there , I especially appreciated the picture contained in the Dufferin Park article and visualized all the "Damon Runyan" characters who would go with it . Such as "Dirty Dick","Peg Leg" Jones,"Lucky" the tailor who made most of the driving silks at the time ,along with "Wicksey" who was Orpen's right hand man at the time and also Al Washington from Chicago (one of the first black drivers that I encountered) and on & on . Very interesting topic .
From Bill McDonnell
I never stabled at Dufferin but raced there parts of two seasons ,shipping from Thorncliffe for one and Long Branch the next .Yes it was a great deal of fun,stories that cannot be told .
By the way ,that load of logs would only be a half load in the Ottawa Valley . I have known of loads of over 100 logs . Of course the sleighs and the "bunks" were wagon size .Many woods jobbers owned harness horses including A.G. & Hugh Proudfoot of Fort Coulonge P.Q. ,Felix Turcotte Mattawa (the ancestor of the Turcotte clan) Tom McCool Pembroke ,P.D. Keon Chichester P.Q. ,my own father J.H. Findley and Hector Clouthier of Pembroke .
From John S Findley
Note from the Editor - Thanks Doc for the great comment and all of the attendant information . I think things were just naturally bigger in the Ottawa Valley (including the stories) . My experience in logging was all with hardwoods ,our logs had "weight" not just size .
Happy New Year Robert :
Looking at the track in today's picture makes me think that's what Woodbine will look like tonight .Muddy ! .Terrible accident at Freehold yesterday ;must have been ice under the surface that made the starting car go out of control .
Keep up the great work and Take care .
From Marv Chantler
Recollections follower Tim Bojarski sent along these interesting artifacts to do with Dufferin Park .Free admission would have been quite a "perk" in those days .
Winter Racing Comes To Greenwood - 1966
January 18, 2014
For almost as long as there has been harness racing ,some form of it has existed in the winter time . Ice racing was once a popular winter pastime and usually in the very old days it was more of an attraction to the participants than any spectators it might attract .
I came across an interesting piece as part of a story about the famous reinsman Earle Avery , a man recently written about on this website . He had the following to say about ice racing ....
"When I was a young man in New Brunswick, we used to race on the ice in the Saint John River .I've raced when the temperature would drop as low as 40 degrees below zero .It was the best fun you've ever seen . We put caulks on the shoes of the horses and the caulks would cut into the ice for the smoothest,most rhythmic ride of all ......the horses didn't mind the cold ; neither did the drivers ."
However the full fledged commercial version of the sport in winter as we know it today , goes back only about 50 years in Canada .[This is of course Post Dufferin Park ] .In the fall of 1965, Windsor Raceway launched their operation which was designed primarily for winter racing .Its every detail was aimed at making the customer comfortable and at the same time challenging the elements with all of the technology possible including a synthetic based "Tartan" track .
Windsor Raceway Goes 9+ Years Before First Cancelled Program
Apparently the plan worked as Windsor presented an incredible 1,470 programs in succession before a cancellation took place . This meant that the track operated without a "break" from October 21,1965 to December 1,1974 . Why then ? ...Well a 19 inch snowfall that blanketed the city of Windsor and the surrounding area finally forced track officials to take a night off .
Winter Racing Comes To Greenwood
The first winter racing program at Greenwood started on February 26,1966 and went through to April 16 .The inaugural winter session drew 254,956 fans who wagered $ 13,989,628 .The Ontario Jockey Club termed it a "Spring" meeting, but it was the earliest start on the OJC Circuit ever . Jacob "Sonny" Geisel Jr. of Hanover Ont. won the UDRS title with a percentage of .458 . A few of the horses he drove were Brother Noble,Rose Ovelmo,Jean First and Frisco Lou .Leading the way in dashes won was 41 year old Dr. John Findley who made 24 trips to the winner's circle . A few of his string included George Volo,Palermo,Ann Barmin,Henrietta Sue,Chatham Chip,Dilly Bob,Even Glo ,Royal Dominion and Horatius .
The opening race winner of the then new "winter" schedule was Spencers Pride C with Clarence Hilliard driving . Other winning drivers on opening day included Wm. Wellwood, George Hawke,Allan Waddell,Ross Curran,Wes Coke,Yvon Demers and Jimmy Holmes .With the racing strip conditioned for winter racing, the best time on the opening card was 2:10.4 turned in by George Volo who won the $ 3,000 Invitational for Dr. John Findley . The balance of the field behind George Volo included J J Wann (2),Sonny Creed (3),Lochinver King (4) and Perennial (5) .
Most of the well known drivers of the day were participants at this mid winter gathering . In addition to those mentioned above were John Millman,Harold Walsh,Lloyd Gilmour,Ronnie Feagan,Wm Stillar,Rejean Boily,Dave Dowson,Omar Knight,Bert Quinlan,Renald Filion,Bill Hicks,Clure Archdekin,Mark Coliton,Wm Stirton,Jack Bissonette,Laurence Geisel,Joe Carr,Allan Walker,Peter Thibaudeau,Wm Troy ,Bruce Clements,Ken & Barry Galbraith,Everett Norris,Gary Campbell,John Redpath,Pat Crowe,Doug Palmer,John Hayes,Allan Pacey and many more too numerous to list .Absent from the list was Keith Waples who was campaigning his large stable at the new Windsor Raceway along with a satellite training centre at the Young Bros. track.Also at this time Bill Wellwood at age 25 was just launching his career with operating his own public stable .
In 1965 as a prelude to winter racing at Greenwood , a 5/8 ths mile stone dust track was constructed inside the dirt track and the lights etc. were moved .At the same time ,the main floor of the grandstand was glassed in and extended to the east .The paddock, the only original building remaining at Greenwood was also glass enclosed .Soon both the racing personnel and the fans adjusted to the new kind of racing . Many people who had attended races only in more moderate weather conditions made the transition to cold winds,snow squalls and "white outs" on the track .
With winter racing came new equipment and other attempts to deal with the inclement weather . Shown below are a couple of participants both human and equine, displaying their new ideas at coping with "Mother Nature" .
Veteran horseman Jack Mehlenbacher,a former NHL referee, is shown above with his horse sporting a plastic device he invented to shield the horse's nose and aid in its breathing in very cold temperatures .
Driver Don Brainard of Whitney Point N.Y. shows off his woolen face mask designed to ward off the cold winter winds .At the time at least 125 drivers were wearing these at Greenwood
A horse named Daniel Boy owned by Raymond Moreau of Quebec City is wearing a special pair of earmuffs designed to protect his ears which were very sensitive to cold weather
Your comments are welcomed at oldrecollections@gmail.com
[My thanks to Bill Galvin's archives for a great deal of information contained herein ]
A Close Call
January 22, 2014
A view of an old judge's stand where all of the day's activity took place including the placing of horses .In the old days the judges stands were always in the infield ,right at the finish wire .[See further note below]
A Look Back To 1938
In the old days of racing there were two very important things that we now take for granted missing from putting on a day of racing . While most times things went off without a "hitch", it wasn't a 100 % guarantee . The two things missing were the starting gate which came along in 1947, and the photo finish camera which dates back to the 1930's but never made its way to the small Town venues .Taking the camera's place was the human eye ,which wasn't always foolproof .
During the big race day at New Hamburg Ontario in 1938 a rather strange and what turned out to be an embarrassing situation arose .The race day's organizers were aware of just how important it was to have the best possible starter available .To this end, Dr. A.S. Miller of East Aurora New York was hired for the day as he was considered about the best in the business .In addition to all of his experience and qualifications, he was a cousin to the legendary horseman Ben White ,the man who won many Hambletonians and eventually had a huge Florida training centre named after him .
In the "Derby Trial" which was the second biggest event of the day that year, a close finish occurred in the second of 3 heats . While the old record books show that a horse named Bert Patch won all three heats , more than a few people present that day had differing opinions .This event drew a total of 11 starters ,a pretty bulky field on an old 1/2 mile track .
In those days the starter also served as the announcer . While he may have been assisted at times in the final placing of horses ,the starter often had the last word on who was "home first" . In this particular race a horse from Western Canada named Silver Bars owned by the Calgary Packing Co. closed quickly on Bert Patch and to many in the crowd ,especially those holding tickets on him,felt that he was the winner .
As the horses returned to salute the judges as they did in those days ,Dr. Miller announced the winner as Bert Patch . A chorus of boos went up and many in the large crowd of some 6,000 people voiced their displeasure . To say that "The natives were restless" was to put it mildly ....
$ 5.00 Says ....
Sensitive to their unrest, Dr. Miller was so certain of his decision that he made an announcement that he would personally bet anyone in the crowd $5 .00 that if the driver of Silver Bars were asked that he would surely agree with and back up the starter's decision .The horse's driver was Clayton Annis , a noted driver from Saskatchewan .
Upon hearing of the offer, Mr. Annis made his way up the track from the stable area to the judge's platform amid a hearty welcome from the crowd . However much to the dismay of the starter ,the driver said that his horse was clearly the winner and perhaps by the margin of a head !!,thus contradicting Dr. Miller the starting judge .
Unfortunately though ,much like the boss, the starter was always right and the win was credited to Bert Patch .I am sure similar events occurred on a regular basis with no camera to record the action .
Note re picture : The above photo was taken at Tillsonburg in August 1956 . The winning horse is Argyel Margaret (Duncan Campbell) and finishing second at the rail is Lena's Pride (Keith Feagan) [London Free Press]
REMEMBERING JACK MEHLENBACHER
January 25, 2014
" Jack Mehlenbacher is probably the only man who can say he drove harness horses for a living Saturday afternoons and refereed NHL games for a living Saturday nights ......"
So read a Golden Horseshoe Circuit publication write up from over 40 years ago as written by publicist Wm. Galvin .
While many personalities from the past of harness racing have had some pretty interesting and unusual combinations of attributes and accomplishments, this man's biography was admittedly a bit different to say the least .
Jack was born into a horse loving family on March 19 ,1923 in the metropolis of Nelles Corners,some 5 miles from Hagersville Ont. . At the age of 16 he first drove one of his father's horses in a race at Toronto's Dufferin Park . At about this same time in 1939, he also joined a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings as a hockey player .His stint with the "Winged Wheelers" was short lived and he returned closer to home where he played in an intermediate league around Simcoe . An old back injury eventually ended his playing career, but his interest in hockey remained .
One night while waiting in the stands for a hockey game to begin, he was asked to officiate as a fill in for an injured ref . .He accepted the invitation and so began a new career .He went from the OHL to the NHL where he stayed for 6 years ,still racing his horses at every opportunity . Once retired from hockey duties, he devoted his time completely to harness racing .
His travels which began at the local tracks and the fall fair circuit, eventually took him to the major Canadian and U.S. tracks . For a number of years after starring at the Old Thorncliffe track, he centred his operation on the Buffalo and Batavia New York Circuit . When better racing opportunities presented themselves closer to home as the Ontario Jockey Club tracks prospered in the mid 1960's, he returned to his native Ontario .In time, his sons Jack Jr. and Gerry became drivers and were very involved with their father's business and he lessened his driving activities .At one time early in his career Jack's brother Jim also drove the family horses .
Today the Mehlenbacher name remains in harness racing as it has for over 80 years . Jack Jr's son Sean trains at Hagersville and races at several Ontario tracks while John ,Sean's brother, owns a number of horses . The youngest John is actually John the Fifth;obviously a favourite choice of first names in the Mehlenbacher family. For over 100 years the Mehlenbacher name was prominent in the small community of Nelles Corners for another reason . At least three generations of the family ran a grain and seed business specializing in the processing and sale of forage grains . For as long as anyone can remember the business sign on their building was visible to passers by on old # 3 Highway .The enterprise which started in 1903 was sold in 2003 .
I personally had a somewhat unusual chance meeting with Jack Mehlenbacher that I recall with a chuckle . In 1965 I was standing at the finish wire at the old Garden City track as a spectator chatting with the security guard .As the horses paraded to the post, Jack was driving the lead horse .As he passed my vantage point, his stopwatch fell out of his pocket and a trailing horse stepped on just the rim ,causing the crystal to pop off . I noticed it and asked the security officer to retrieve it .Amazingly it was not broken and I quickly replaced the crystal . After the race I walked toward the paddock which was adjacent to the grandstand . I saw Jack looking around the area ,presumable thinking his watch had dropped nearby . I discreetly summoned him and the watch was returned .[This was my only experience at watch repair]
In a long career as an owner,breeder,trainer and driver Jack Mehlenbacher enjoyed a number of successes . Perhaps one of his greatest thrills came early in his career when he won the Maple Leaf Trot in 1953 at Thorncliffe Park with his own outstanding trotter Vanduzen .In those days the top event of the entire seson carried a purse of $ 2,500! . A number of Supertest,Futurity and other stakes wins also came his way with such horses as Mr. Galvin, Clinterpart and Merry England .Additionally he trained and raced a solid medium sized stable of steady performers for many years .
Jack Mehlenbacher passed away in 1999 in his 77 th year .He is fondly remembered as a colourful figure in the past of Canadian harness racing .
Your comments are welcomed at oldrecollections@gmail.com
Following the recent article I penned on winter racing ,a nice note was received from Bill McDonnell commenting on the picture of Jack Mehlenbacher showing a plastic breathing shield for horses racing in cold temperatures (shown again today) .Bill recalls that while this device was probably a worthwhile invention,it was not allowed by the Canadian Para Mutuel Agency who were then in charge of the photo finishes .It was ruled that any piece of equipment that would hinder the judging of the finish of a race was not acceptable . I guess there was concern that a horse's nose might not hit the wire first but his "nose guard " might !! . Bill also recalls a long friendship with the Mehlenbacher family and many visits to see them and their horses, particularly when he worked at a bank in Hagersville .
In later years after his sons became more involved ,Jack served as a spectator at times as shown in this photo . Here he is shown on the backstretch at Leamington during OSS action around 1988 visiting with yours truly .[ D.M. Smith photo]
Prince Adios (Clint Hodgins) on the left takes over for Jean Dillon (Mehlenbacher) heading into the home lane in the Canadian Cup at Thorncliffe Raceway . The Adios stallion equalled the track mark of 2:04 2/5 in this heat ,then came back to set a new track record of 2:12 2/5 for the mile and a sixteenth (Michael Burns photo from Aug. 13, 1952 Harness Horse courtesy of Don Daniels)
