Rewind: The First Summer Pacing Classic

In this week's edition of "Rewind," Robert Smith goes back in time some 51 years as he recalls the first ever Summer Pacing Classic race which eventually became the famous "Prix D'Ete" held for many years at the old Blue Bonnets track in Montreal. It was a day to remember and just one of many almost "once in a lifetime" race days held in the city of Montreal which for many years was the harness racing capital of Canada. It also became part of the glorious sports history of this great City.

A view from the Blue Bonnets grandstand (Hoof Beats)

Sunday afternoons, huge crowds, exciting racing...It sounds a lot like what regularly took place at the old Blue Bonnets track on Decarie Blvd. in Montreal. If we could turn back the proverbial hands of time to Sunday, June 16, 1968 all of the above and more were in full force. Early in the afternoon a near record crowd of 20,626 eager fans were squeezed in wherever there was a square inch to stand or, for the luckier ones, a place to sit. It was the inaugural of a very memorable and famous succession of races.

Scheduled as the ninth race of the day was the first edition of a new race called "The Summer Pacing Classic." It was a much hyped by the then-vibrant Montreal press as the highlight of the year. Of course many in attendance still had the previous year's big race to celebrate Canada's Centennial Year fresh in their minds. On that day the world famous horseman Billy Haughton thrilled the crowd and the racing world with his drive of Romulus Hanover. It was a day for the ages; many pages of the record books were rewritten that day.

In this year's big headliner an identical purse of $50,000 was again on the line. Perhaps due to the strength of the competition, only six entrants were up for the challenge. It had been hoped that Romulus Hanover, the star of the previous year's race would be back for another thriller. Unfortunately a soundness issue prevented his return and greatly diminished the track management's pre-race hopes. Thankfully Billy Haughton was able to supply yet another strong contender in Nardins Byrd who quickly assumed the role of at least co-favourite or the top pick among many of the pundits. It was truly big time racing as five of the entrants arrived at Blue Bonnets via a chartered airplane while the local Blossom Time had been in town for the past 10 days. (Note - The purse of $50,000 in 1968 adjusted to current values is approx. $363,500)

It was Canada's richest race day in history as it offered purses that totalled $90,400. Never before had such a large amount been up for grabs on a single program. The big race carried a $50,000 prize while the three-year-old pacing fillies went for $9,600 and an aged trot had a sizable pot of $7,000. Track handicapper Leon Bouchard selected both Nardins Byrd and True Duane as "too close to call " while others offered their opinions. Georges Giguere, Richelieu's Race Secretary, along with drivers Duncan MacTavish and Charlie Poulin saw Nardins Byrd as the winner while drivers Benoit Cote, Don Gillis and Gilles LaChance favored True Duane. A headline in the Montreal Gazette the day before the race read Classic Looms As Wide-Open Event.

Graphic artist's rendering, courtesy Montreal Gazette archives

As the horses left the gate local hopeful Blossom Time quickly headed for the front, taking the field to the quarter in 28 seconds flat. Prior to he half way marker driver Chris Boring moved the heavy favourite and eventual winner True Duane to the lead with second choice Nardins Byrd tucked in second. As Golden Blend faded slightly, Song Cycle moved up for the show spot and this is the way the race ended. At the wire, True Duane showed a margin of three-quarters of a length over a challenging Billy Haughton and Nardins Byrd.

Driver Chris Boring raises his whip as he steers True Duane to the finish wire a winner holding Nardins Byrd and driver Billy Haughton at bay. (Montreal Gazette photo)

It was the second fastest mile ever recorded in Canada 1:58 flat, and the handle was also the second largest at $1,000,807 just $61,000 short of the previous high set on the Centennial Pace day. It marked just the second ever mutuel handle in excess of $1 million on a single card. True Duane, a $1,600 yearling purchase by Ohio owner Richard Oldfield, was just 4/5 of a second off of the all time speed record set the previous year by Romulus Hanover at 1:57.1. His victory was obviously sensed by the betting crowd as he went off at odds of 4-5 and paid a small $3.60 for a two-dollar investment.

Winning driver Chris Boring of Adrian, Michigan was just 27 years of age at the time of this victory driving True Duane. He was already a very seasoned horseman having grown up in a harness racing environment in his native Michigan. His father Leon was a first class horseman by any standard. He drove in his first race at the age of 16 and upon graduation from High School he joined his father's stable on a full-time basis.

The track was in razor sharp condition for the big day and the mile times recorded throughout the afternoon were amazing. In addition to the 1:58 clocking by True Duane another sub-2:00 score was achieved by Blaze Pick in the third as Keith Waples steered the chestnut speedster home in 1:59. Other fast miles belonged to Zip Tar in 2:01.3, also driven by Keith Waples for the same owner Russel Miller of Dutton. Drummond Hanover scored in 2:01 for Benoit Cote as did Blossom Time with Marcel Dostie up. In all, six of the day's winners sped to new lifetime records.

That year True Duane was plagued by soundness problems that limited him to just 13 season's starts but he sure made the best of them. His three wins during that campaign were all top of the news headline stories. The five-year-old ended his shortened season with a lifetime total of $366,000 with $74,000 of that amount added during the 1968 season. His lifetime record of 1:56.4 taken as a three-year-old remained his best.

While this was a tremendous victory, it was by no means the most memorable of True Duane's career. Two years earlier in 1966 the young Chris Boring had the ride of a lifetime as he defeated the most famous horses then in competition. At Hollywood Park in California as the great Bret Hanover closed out his racing career, True Duane stole the spotlight. As Bret and Cardigan Bay battled it out all the way down the stretch driver Boring watched it all unfold and swept past the famous twosome to gain the upset and thus etch his name in the record books forever.

An account of that day included in the story of Bret Hanover's career entitled "Big Bum" mentioned that True Duane's visit to the winner's circle was rather brief and without too much fanfare as the day belonged to another regardless of the race's outcome. It was his final career start and even though the closing script was not quite as planned the day belonged to Bret Hanover and Frank Ervin.

True Duane and driver Chris Boring

And so went the first ever Summer Pacing Classic. I hope to revive and relive a few more of these great annual races later known as The Prix D'Ete as time goes by.

Results

1. True Duane (Chris Boring)
2. Nardins Byrd (Wm. Haughton)
3. Song Cycle (Billy Shuter)
4. Golden Blend (Claude Pelletier)
5. Timely Knight (Roger White)
6. Cardinal King (Stanley Dancer)

Times: 28.0; 59.1; 1:28.2; 1:58 (Second fastest in Canadian history and 24th sub-2:00 mile ever to date on Canadian soil)

Who Is It?

Can you name these three individuals in a photo taken about 55 years ago? The correct answer will be given during the upcoming week. (Photo courtesy of Harness Horse.)