SC Rewind Returns

This week marks the return of SC Rewind, with Robert Smith recalling a feel-good harness racing story from years ago.

One of the great stories from the mid 1960's involves a very good horse named H A Meadowland, and his co-owner, trainer and driver Ronnie Feagan of Goderich, Ont.

At this time, there was no brighter shining star than young Ron who turned 23 in 1965. To add to his "star power" the two-year-old colt was the proverbial "icing on the cake". I also vividly recall Ronnie driving a brand new shiny 1965 red Ford convertible!

Purchased at a sale in Northfield, Ohio as a yearling for $1,300, H A Meadowland showed very early in his career that he was a special find. Upon making the purchase Ron said, "I liked his looks, and I liked the price." He also asserted that he made the choice strictly on his own. In March of his two-year-old season, which was 1965, Ron's grandfather George Feagan bought in as a full partner. It had to be quite a thrill for both of them as they savoured owning one of the best horses in the country.

The colt showed such talent as a two-year-old that he began to attract some pretty tempting offers. They started at $20,000 and eventually escalated to $50,000 after a win at Richelieu Park in 2:03 3/5. The highest offer came from the powerful and affluent Miron Bros. Stable, based in Montreal. After much deliberation, Ron and his grandfather decided to retain the colt, realizing that his earning potential as well as his possible future as a sire would make him a good horse to keep.

The Feagans were not alone in their decision as another astute horseman chimed in with his assessment of the colt. Veteran London based horseman Bill Herbert had high praise for the youngster. He said "H A Meadowland is one of the best two year olds I've ever seen, and I'm glad a nice able young fellow like Ron got him." Those were pretty encouraging words from a man who had seen and even owned some very good colts himself.

As a matter of interest H A Meadowland won a total of $ 19,832 as a two year old, which at that time was considered a rather large amount of money for a freshman.

OJC Gen. Mgr. John Mooney presents a trophy to driver Ron Feagan and H A Meadowland at Garden City.

H A Meadowland Wins The Canadian Pacing Derby - August 20, 1966

In 1966, The Canadian Pacing Derby attracted just about the best pacing talent in Canada and some from the U.S. It was just in the second year of its reincarnation on the Jockey Club Circuit after being held for many years at the small Town of New Hamburg, Ont. In 1957 it was discontinued and not contested again until 1965 when a sensational three-year-old named Jerry Hal won the first of the new era for Chatham, Ont. based owner John Langford.

The 1966 Derby was held at Greenwood Raceway on Saturday evening August 20th and was witnessed by a huge crowd of 12,470 people. It carried a hefty purse of $14,760 and attracted a field of seven starters. The overwhelming choice of the betting public was the 3-5 choice, Tactile in rein to Johnny Chapman, a Canadian-born horseman who had been racing in the U.S. for many years. He was hoping to be the first driver to notch a victory in the "new" Derby as he had won the 1948 edition behind the legendary The Count B when the race was held at Fountain Park in New Hamburg, Ont.

Scoring from the sixth position, H A Meadowland was nestled into a trailing position as the U.S. invader Dancing David in rein to Bob Farrington, took the early lead. This pair remained in the lead for the first 3/4 mile until Golden Blend, the only other three-year-old, briefly took the lead at the head of the long stretch. At this point Tactile, the favourite, made a bold move and appeared to be the horse to beat. He apparently hooked wheels with someone and was quickly out of contention, further enhancing the chances of H A Meadowland.

At this point Ronnie Feagan began to move his charge on the outside and eventually collared Timely Knight, driven by Marcel Dostie, taking the lead in the final strides. Woodlawn Drummond was third. The colt paced the mile in 2:00 1/5, setting a new Greenwood track record and also establishing the fastest race in Ontario history to this point. It was also the fastest trip in Canada thus far in 1966.

The win was worth $7,880 raising his three year old earnings to $17,640 and further affirming the decision to retain the young horse. As far as the betting public was concerned, there were a scattering of rather broad smiles in the crowd as a few lucky punters headed for the cashiers' window to claim the $35.50 win pay off. This was quite an oversight by most in attendance.

Results of the 1966 Canadian Pacing Derby

1 - H A Meadowland (R. Feagan)
2 - Timely Knight (M. Dostie)
3 - Woodlawn Drummond (K. Waples)..3
4 - Golden Blend(C. Pelletier)
5 - Tactile (J. Chapman)
6 - Dancing David (R. Farrington)
7 - Jerry Hal (W. McIllmurray)

Time - 2:00.1 (New Track & Ontario Record)

Beyond the horse's immediate connections, few people realized that day that H A Meadowland almost didn't start in the Derby. Following a late June victory at Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the horse was stricken with a severe form of virus and had to be completely shut down. Within the couple of weeks leading up to the Derby, Feagan was able to get his horse back in shape and as it turned out his faith in the horse's ability was proven beyond a doubt. In a post-race interview he revealed that he had worked the youngster a mile in 2:06, but still felt he was not up to his full strength. The race proved otherwise and his hopes for a third or fourth place finish were greatly surpassed.

Ron's grandfather made his way to the winner's circle with the aid of a crutch as he recovered from being struck by a car a year previous to this. Buoyed by the win he said, "I don't need this any more," setting it aside as he posed for a picture with his son Keith, Ron's father, along with Ron and the winning horse. Jockey Club President E.P. Taylor made the presentation.

The senior Feagan also added "And to think I almost went to the races at Clinton instead of coming here today...."