SC Rewind: The First $100,000 Sale

Last year I did a piece about Canada's Centennial in 1967 and what a great and memorable year long celebration it was. Coincidental with that year was the first ever Canadian Standardbred Horse Society sale that grossed over one hundred thousand dollars

. It took quite a few horses through the sale's ring to get the job done, but it did happen. I find it interesting to see what the sale "topper" brought and who some of the buyers were back then. While these prices may seem abnormally low, a decade earlier a similar sale in 1958 although much smaller in scope, saw a total of 41 horses sold for $8,700 or an average of $213.00. Things were moving in the right direction be it ever so slowly.

The two-day sale was held on November 22 and 23, 1967 at the CNE Coliseum and was organized by the CSHS under the direction of Wm. McDonnell, Secretary Manager of the Association. The auctioneer was Tom Caldwell. Over the two days a total of 204 horses went under the gavel for a gross return of $100,225 and an average of $491. It was truly a "Mixed" Sale as every age from weanlings to broodmares well over the age of 20 were auctioned off. While the total was a record, the average price paid was well below the previous year's all time record of $703.

The sale topper was a yearling trotting prospect named Bradley Song. He brought a high bid of $5,200 from owner Bruce Smith of Toronto, who raced under the name of Galleon Stables. The trainer and driver of the sale's leader was a young and very successful Ken Galbraith who had worked with Mr. Smith for a number of years. The main selling point here was the fact that the colt's full brother Danny Song A had campaigned for Galbraith and the Galleon connections, winning over $100,000 since being rescued from the Amish. His sire Dick Song, with a record of 2:09, was a modest producer and his dam was Nancy Van, by now the mother of nine foals most notable among them Danny Song A and a half brother, Fearless Doc. Nancy Van was the property of Earl Ash of Desboro, Ont., a small hamlet in Grey County north of Owen Sound.

The next highest price horse in the sale was Robra Bimbo who was knocked down to Allan Waddell acting as agent for winery executive Gordon Gilbride. The yearling colt was sired by Jersey Hanover and out of Honor's Goose. The obvious attraction here was the Jersey Hanover angle as Robra Rosie, a filly by this sire, had just won $14,000 this season for the stallion's owner Fred Robertson of Hornby, Ont. Next in line from a price standpoint was Eastwood Dream, a Greentree Adios colt purchased by Moe Graif of Montreal for $3,000.

Present at this sale as he was for most auctions on both sides of the border for decades, was a gentleman named Paul Martin of Blue Ball, Pennsylvania. He was always on hand to purchase for the Amish trade but also had an eye for a bargain that might turn a "dollar" as a racing prospect. His purchase of Dixie R Direct, a 16-year-old broodmare for $50 was the lowest of the sale and he also haltered the only grey horse sold.

Perhaps the most interesting transaction of the entire two-day sale involved the sale of a 19-year-old broodmare named Blossom Chief. The winning bid of $75 reunited the veteran mare with her original owner "Wib" Slack, a 77-year-old horseman from Hagersville, Ont. The daughter of Chief Abbedale was first purchased by Mr. Slack at a Kentucky auction 18 years earlier. With her productive years as a broodmare behind her, also her dollar value had decreased significantly as she was originally sold as a yearling for $2,400. I am confident the two were happy to be together again.

Here is a partial list of some of the horses sold and a few related details.

Northwood Frenchy – purchased by R. Gemill, Campbellville, Ont. - $350

C G Adios – purchased by D. McIntosh, Wheatley, Ont. -$450

Charley's Papoose – purchased by Clarence Varcoe, Beeton, Ont. - $350

Widow Bonnie – purchased by R. M. Vance, Cornwall, Ont. - $375

Rock And Roll Attorney – purchased by Floyd Belore, Salford, Ont. - $150

Jet Flemington – purchased by Jack Wray, Schomberg, Ont. - $ 275

Quinte Dale – purchased by Tom C Smith, Renfrew, Ont. - $225

Rose Brooke – purchased by Wm. Megens, Woodville, Ont. - $200

Hootanelia – purchased by Geo. Bennett, Mossley, Ont. - $250

Ann Cash – purchased by J. B. Grant, Hornby, Ont. - $650

Brady Cash – purchased by Alex Duncan, Stoney Creek, Ont. - $175

Robra B Ginny – purchased by John Burns Collingwood, Ont. - $550

Grace Widower – purchased by Barry Moore Lindsay, Ont. - $450

Harley's Tar – purchased by John Hayes Oshawa , Ont. - $2200

Call Me Spud – purchased by Gord Sherwin, Baltimore, Ont. - $1300

Country Rose – purchased by Wil Lor Farm, Sunderland, Ont. -$75

Country Gem – purchased by Orval Sleeth, Kingston, Ont.- $200

C R Direct – purchased by Borden Best, Gore Bay, Ont. - $250

E. M. K. – purchased by Wm Sturman, Pt. Colborne, Ont. - $150

Homestead Sandy – purchased by Carman Hie, Weston, Ont. - $150

Roxy Hamilton – purchased by Larry Fitzsimmons, Tillsonburg, Ont. - $225

Robra Byrd – purchased by W. Grant, Hornby, Ont.- $600

House Of Commons – purchased by Ross & Nina Avey. Paris, Ont. - $1300

Del Lou – purchased by Ray Leifso, Elmwood, Ont. - $150

Tootsie Babe – purchased by Russ Guddman, Owen Sound, Ont. - $650

Merry Bars – purchased by Don Cox Schomberg, Ont. - $150

Go Ozzie Go – purchased by Elmer McLean, Sarnia, Ont. - $200

Brenda Harvester – purchased by Robt. Cameron, Arva, Ont. - $475

Miss Judy Abbe – purchased by Laurence Geisel, Hanover, Ont. - $800

Total head sold - 204
Average - $491.00