When Mohawk Racetrack opens its doors for another season tonight (Thursday, May 23), it will be doing so for its 50th straight year.

The oval has been a Campbellville fixture since April 26, 1963.

Pat Crowe - who will forever be known as the conditioner of, arguably, the greatest pacer of all-time, Cam Fella - captured the inaugural race when guided David Hal B across the wire first for trainer Carman Brown.

The $600 purse, for three and four-year-olds who were non-winners of $3,000 lifetime, was captured in a mile time of 2:09.1. David Hal B paid a handsome $25.80 to win as a longshot.

“I remember the race very well,” admitted Crowe, who, at the time, was 25 years of age. “He (David Hal B) was just a cheap horse, but he got the job done that day. It’s pretty amazing how things have changed since then.”

Crowe look back fondly on the days of Mohawk in the early 1960's.

“The atmosphere was just amazing. The place always had a terrific turnout of people and it was a fun place to be at,” he said. “We didn’t race for very much money, but we were just as competitive back then as they are today.

"I remember it was a very big deal when it was built. A five-eighths oval wasn’t popular back then,” Crowe continued. “We usually raced on half-mile tracks and I remember when Keith Waples qualified Blaze Pick in 2:00. It was the first 2:00 mile and that was really something to see back then.”

Over the past fifty years, racing has changed dramatically according to the veteran horseman.

“It’s much more of a business now-a-days compared to then,” he offered. “Back then, trainers drove all their own horses and the owners were involved for the love of the sport, not really to get rich. They enjoyed watching their horse race every week and coming to the track.”

In contrast, Crowe says the horsepeople of the sport are much the same today as it was decades ago.

“As for us horsemen, it was like family. We saw one another pretty much every day, so we all became friends,” Crowe said. “Don’t get me wrong, we were very competitive on the track, but off the track we were all pretty close.

“It’s pretty amazing how the times have changed,” continued Crowe. “Training bills were about $250 a month and you could pay a groom $50 to paddock four horses,” Crowe said with a laugh.

Today, a groom who "paddocks" a horse would get $75-$100 and training bills could range from $3,000-$5,000 per month .

The field for the first ever race at Mohawk lined up as follows:

1) Dicks Henly – Colin Forbes
2) Mighty Stein – Don McNutt
3) R Veda – Dan Gillis
4) Hal G Atom – Bev Kingston
5) Adios Direct – Hugh McLean
6) Jimmie Atom – John Moffatt
7) J J Wann – Rejean Boily
8) David Hal B – Pat Crowe

The winning drivers on the opening program were: Pat Crowe, Gord Kingston, Sibley Nott, Herb Stewart, Elden Turcotte, Ken Galbraith, Ted Turcotte Jr., Martial LeBlanc and James Holmes.

Twelve dashes will go postward tonight with a 7:25 p.m. post time.

(WEG)