SC Rewind: Remembering Ben White

Robert Smith remembers a once popular winter training centre with Canadian roots, where many great horses learned their early lessons

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Quite a few years ago I had the pleasure of visiting one of the sport's great winter training centres and in fact did so on many occasions. It was called Ben White Raceway advertised as "The Training Capital of Harness Racing." It was located in the City of Orlando in central Florida, a place whose weather is my idea of a perfect winter. I suspect that feeling was shared by many others who either visited or took up winter residence there. For many years it was the largest training centre in the U.S. At one time, particularly before the days of Disneyworld, it was quite a tourist attraction as thousands of visitors flocked to see the multiple tracks and barns. A rather laid back friendly atmosphere always existed there as people came and went without any security and better yet without any admission charge.

Ben White Raceway was named after one of the truly great horsemen of the early part of the 20th Century - Benjamin Franklin White, a Canadian by birth. Mr. White was often referred to as "The Dean Of Colt Trainers." Born and raised in the Durham County town of Whitevale just east of Toronto in the Pickering area, the young Mr. White moved to the U.S. at a fairly young age to pursue his dream of racing harness horses. He soon became the head trainer for legendary reinsman "Pop " Geers. His four Hambletonian victories within a ten year span place him in a very special category.

Around 1920 Ben White first began to winter train in Florida and is generally acknowledged as the first Northern based trainer to ship his horses south for winter training .His new idea led him to the heart of Orlando where he set up his quarters at the Orlando Fairgrounds and also moved his family nearby. As the population grew, his presence became unwelcome due to smelly horse odours coupled with interference from automobiles as he did some of his jogging on the adjacent sandy streets.

He then moved to Longwood, Florida to a spot called Seminole Park. Many of the great trainers of the day began to follow and soon a great winter haven was established where friends met, great dinners were served at the Clubhouse and legendary card games occurred most evenings. The benefit of warm weather training and the rewarding life style for the trainers and caretakers became an accepted way of life.

Around 1946 the City of Orlando approached Ben White to establish a training centre there as the industry starved City looked for new occupants. The Ben White site was not originally a horse facility but rather was built as a cattle exposition centre. However, for a number of reasons the undertaking did not survive. Mr. White visited the site and after suggesting several changes and alterations he put his stamp of approval on the project. In 1947 the Ben White stable became the first occupants and immediately others followed. Soon the original 120 stalls were filled and many others were turned away. In the spring of 1948, at a small ceremony the training facility was officially dedicated in honour of its first resident but was always owned and operated by the City of Orlando.

The years that followed saw more land purchased and further barns were constructed. Eventually at its peak the property would house 644 horses, had six blacksmith shops and several restaurants including the renowned Holiday House, a favourite spot for visitors. In the 1950's a second half mile track was built mainly for the Billy Haughton stable, then the track's largest patron. In 1961 Frank Ervin moved from Pompano Park into a special barn built expressly for him. In later years Canadian Clint Galbraith took up residence there and at one time in the 1980's he had over 100 horses in training at Ben White. Many other Canadian born horsemen have resided at this great facility over the years.Clint Hodgins gave many of his stars such as Bye Bye Bird and Elaine Rodney their first lessons there. In later years the Jack Kopas Stable occupied his spot.

When Ben White passed way in 1958 at the age of 85 he had lived to see his dream of southern training reach its full potential. Most of the great horsemen of his generation and several that followed had tutored their pupils in the Florida sunshine.

Today the once famous and very busy Ben White Raceway is no longer a training centre. A complete redesign of the facility began in 2002 with completion the following year. The signature oval tracks were removed and over 100 acres were converted to a public park. Presently just over 20 acres are purely equestrian with facilities for able bodied and therapeutic riding and has been renamed The Ledesma Equestrian Centre.

In time all things change .....