While Kingston Park Raceway has remained dormant for 15 years, memories formed at the five-eighths mile track located on McAdoo’s Lane have not been forgotten

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An article in the Kingston Whig-Standard recalls some of the track’s former participants, including the likes of Mark Steacy, John MacMillan, Steve Skene and Ted Huntbach, and reflects on its closure.

Former race secretary, Danny Gibson, reminisces on the track’s friendly, grassroots atmosphere and recalls his most memorable promotion in which the great Cam Fella, owned by Norm Clements, performed a training mile for 1,500 fans one race night producing a track record handle of $185,000.

"That was a really special evening. It would be like a Kentucky Derby winner coming to Kingston. It was a special deal," Gibson said in the article. "I never thought it was possible but all I did was pick up the phone. Norm Clements put it together. He never charged anything, not that we had anything to give them. That was typical of the many [horsemen] that came in. There were some real personalities but they were very humble people. They worked their way up in the business and they never forgot that."

“In all honesty it wasn't the racing I remember in Kingston,” said MacMillan. “It was walking into the second-floor lounge and seeing all the people you knew. Everybody was there having fun. I've raced everywhere in Ontario and at a lot of tracks in the U.S, even at Rideau, I don't feel at home as I did in Kingston."

"We really miss tracks like Kingston for developing horses,” added Steacy. “Rideau is probably the Kingston track today compared to Mohawk and Woodbine.”

To read the Kingston Whig-Standard article in its entirety, click here.

(With files from the Kingston Whig-Standard)