SC Rewind: Remembering Quebec City

In this week's edition of Rewind Robert Smith recalls the once great racing centre located at Quebec City as part of the ongoing Golden Memories series. Much of his story is told by the old photographs that serve as a reminder of what a great place this once was.

An aerial view of the beautiful track at Quebec City in the 1950's. It was a fine example of what the Province had to offer back in the 1950's (Harness Horse)

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In the early 1950's, the Province of Quebec was among the most popular and progressive locations in the world of harness racing. While the big tracks in Montreal were most publicized, several other locations were annually growing by leaps and bounds as well. Leading the way in virtually every category was the track in Quebec City. It was not only a great racing centre, it also featured a beautiful track layout with architecture and grounds seldom if ever seen at a racecourse.

The Quebec City track was far from being just for locals, it attracted horse people from far and wide and frequently drew fairly large stables from Western Canada that travelled by rail car, a trip that took a long time. One veteran horseman from Manitoba once told me that the men rode right in with the horses and that they packed mattresses but seldom used them because of the "swing and sway" of the fast-moving train.

Also listed among those who frequently raced at Quebec City (which I believe was at times also referred to as "Exposition Park") were many horsemen from the Maritimes, Ontario and parts of the Eastern U.S., particularly the New England states. For many years this quaint track staged rather long racing seasons where a lot of well known stables competed year after year.

A close finish in a $1,000 purse race in 1950. Purses of that magnitude were not too common back then. ​Hollyrood Dewey (1-Marvis) winning first heat of $1,000 15 Trot over Max Bingen (2-Ratte), Roxie Hanover (3-Cantin), Joe's Judge (4-Brown) and Worthy Petrella (5-Giguere).

A rather old photo shows Poplar Dale, the winner of the 1948 Quebec Derby which carried a purse of $1,500. The winning horse was purchased the previous year for $4,675 at Harrisburg and immediately following this three-heat victory was sold for $8,000 to Rosaire Rivard of Three Rivers. In this photo the owner Eugene Catellier is shown at the horse's head while driver Emile Ratte is in the sulky. The lady holding the tray is unidentified (Harness Horse)

A infield view showing the beautiful flower beds and interior training track (Harness Horse)

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When the 1952 racing season at Quebec City ended on October 26, 1952 a page was added to the history of the harness racing sport. It was the 98th program of racing presented at the Quebec City track which set a new Canadian record for the number of meetings offered during an entire season. Another new high was recorded as 312,115 fans paid their attendance to attend what was considered the "most modern" track in Canada. While it reflected an upward trend across the board, it definitely showed that devotees of the harness sport in the Province of Quebec were leading the way. From a betting standpoint the totals were just as impressive.

As recently as 1947, just 21 programs were presented with an attendance of only 31,500. At about this time the Quebec Harness Racing Club Reg'd. took charge of the track and in 1948 floodlights were installed thus paving the way for night racing. In 1948 a vast increase in programs was implemented and the response was phenomenal as just over 139,000 patrons viewed the 62 meetings; many held under the lights. In 1948 the purses paid out totalled less than $110,000 and by 1952 the amount more than doubled to $251,465.

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A view of the front entrance displaying some beautiful architecture as well as a full parking lot (Harness Horse)

During this time period, a mere five years, the track itself was transformed into one of the most attractive and modern in Canada and indeed the equal of many of the U.S. operations. The number of stalls was increased from 154 to 485 and a jogging track was laid out in the inside of the regular race track. In the infield of these ovals beautiful flowerbeds were laid out in a professional manner and featured over 40,000 plants embellishing the entire grounds. A greenhouse capable of producing 70,000 plants per year was also being built at this time to be managed by the gardener of the Club. To put it mildly it was a showplace.

Much of the success of the operation could be directly credited to a quartet of dedicated directors of the Quebec Racing Club. Shown above are from left Henri Bertrand, Jacques Gravel, Jos. Cauchon and Jules Giguere, all regarded as pioneers of harness racing in the Province of Quebec (Harness Horse)

A number of very fine horse people were from Quebec City or raced there over the years. I have put a very small list together which is just the tip of the iceberg. Rejean Boily, Henri Cantin, Alf & Benoit Cote, Georges and Jules Giguere, Henri Portelance, Emile Ratte, Roger White.

In the years that followed this time period the grand old track at Quebec City remained popular for many years until it too fell victim to the changing times. What took literally centuries to build and perfect, is now all but lost.

Who Is It?

Can you correctly identify the two gents in this old picture? The answer will be given during the coming week.