SC Rewind: Dufferin's Final Days

In this week's Rewind Robert Smith recalls the once famous Dufferin Park racetrack in Toronto and its closure 60 years ago. This is the third and concluding edition of a three-part story.

Three well known drivers from the Dufferin Park era appear in this great old 1950's photo. From left: Keith Waples, Percy Robillard and Phil Dussault.

No account of the annals of Dufferin Park could be complete without the input of one of the track's most popular and successful drivers. That special person is Keith Waples, who starred there for parts of three decades. It has been my recent pleasure to enjoy a few reminiscing sessions with this remarkable man who is approaching his 92nd birthday. His recollections are priceless and the experience of chatting with such a distinguished gentleman has been a personal joy for me.

Keith first began racing at Dufferin in the late 1930's. His father Jack Waples sent him with two or three of their own horses to try their luck. Several other horse people from their home area in north central Ontario such as Mr. J.T. Payette of Penetang also raced there. He recalls taking a liking to the place and enjoyed his many winters spent at Dufferin despite the hardships. "At times the track was so bad we couldn't go very fast, but I don't think it was any more dangerous than racing anywhere else."

He recalled it being a friendly place and that horsemen from far and wide spent their winters there. Many horsemen stayed at nearby boarding houses and Keith fondly remembers his time spent at the home of Burleigh Hodgins, one of the better known places. "We had people from Maine, Ohio, Michigan, Quebec and lots from Western Canada. Jimmy Cruise, a top U.S. driver, came up here for several years. It was often 'tough sledding', but we also had a lot of fun. The purses were pretty good, but then again I remember the days when we raced three heats for $30 up where I came from."

When I asked Keith about what the driver's room was like he said "Drivers room hell! About the only way you could get warmed up between races was to head for your tack room and that wasn't much better." He also recalled there was no paddock at Dufferin. "A man named Percy who was more of a thoroughbred connection, rode a quarter horse and knew where everybody was stabled and rounded them up when it was race time. He also looked after the head numbers."

Pictured above is driver Wilmer Hillock truly an old timer in Canadian Harness Racing. He wintered at Dufferin Park for decades and during the summer raced at many U.S. and Canadian tracks. (Harness Horse photo)

"A man named Harold Wicks (he was "Wicksey" to everybody) ran the entire place. He was the race secretary, he ran the book betting and controlled the stalls. I think he had some kind of lease deal with the owner because he was in charge of just about everything.

"When the place closed I suspect we were all disappointed but that was so long ago now. We went quite a while without winter racing until Windsor opened in 1965 and that was a whole new ballgame."

One of the great stories in the waning years of Dufferin Park's long history was the emergence of one of the sport's best horsemen of all time. Amid the wily veterans was a young William "Bud" Gilmour, a native of Ridgeway, Ont. After working for a couple of well-known trainers in Clint Hodgins and Bill Harvey, and while still in his teens, he started driving. Bud soon caught the eye of a number of owners and at times drove in nearly every race at Dufferin.

Bud's natural driving ability, combined with his fearless style of driving on an off track, worked well in the Dufferin scenario. He raced here in the winter and on the Buffalo/Batavia, N.Y. circuit in the summer. By the time Dufferin closed in 1955, a still very young 'Bud' Gilmour was a player on the national scene. He had not even reached his 23rd birthday.

His 'apprenticeship' at the Dufferin track was a great starting point to a Hall of Fame career. When Bud passed away in May of 2011, the sport lost one of its greats. He was not only a highly skilled horseman, he was also a great ambassador to the sport.

Dufferin Drivers' Standings
(Through Feb. 17, 3 points for win, 2 for second, 1 for third)
Driver -- 1st-2nd-3rd -- Points
1. Bud Gilmour -- 57-28-26 -- 253
2. Keith Waples -- 30-34-36 -- 196
3. Percy Robillard -- 27-23-17 -- 141
4. Joe Hodgins -- 22-27-21 -- 141
5. Bill Habkirk -- 18-22-19 -- 118
6. Del MacTavish -- 25-14-10 -- 113
7. Vic Lutman -- 16-16-16 -- 97
8. Hugh McLean -- 15-17-13 -- 92
9. Floyd Milton -- 19-13-6 -- 89
10. Sonny Geisel -- 17-11-12 -- 85

On the afternoon of Saturday, March 19, 1955, the final day of harness racing took place at Dufferin Park. The day began with a daily ritual as track owner Fred Orpen played the National Anthem in his office. The organ music was piped throughout the premises for one last time. A hat belonging to his late father still hung on a hall tree in the office. It would appear that no one in attendance except perhaps the owner Mr. Orpen knew that this was the last day for the harness folks. In October, a announcement was made that the fall harness meeting was being cancelled.

A view of the Dufferin grandstand taken from the infield.

The sale of Dufferin came as a surprise to many. As recently as 1949 Mr. Orpen had publicly stated "Even if somebody offered me a million dollars, I still wouldn't sell the place." In a span of five or six years, the value rose sharply. Orpen also cited the absence of male heir as part of his decision.

The day's races consisted of five races each consisting of two heats. The total purse outlay for the day was $2,800 with the two feature races, a Trot and a Pace each carrying a purse of $700. The Trot was won in straight heats by the 10-year-old mare named Ginger Up, driven by Keith Waples. Both heats of the Pacing feature were won by the nine-year-old mare Nancy Patch, owner driven by Allan Walker of Owen Sound. While Allan was renown for his ability in developing trotters, he will forever be linked to the pacing horse that won the final race at Dufferin Park.

The Final Final Day

Finally on the afternoon of November 8, 1955 which was a Tuesday, a reported crowd of some 6,500 gathered to watch the final day of Thoroughbred racing at Dufferin Park. The crowd was advised that this would be the FINAL DAY EVER for racing at this great old spot. They were told to cash all winning tickets as there would not be another chance.

Above is an aerial view of Dufferin Park, looking east. It was completely surrounded by residential and commercial development. The track was referred to as egg-shaped. [City of Toronto archives]

I sometimes think we could do with a bit more of the Dufferin era. A time when the sport was much simpler and more about what it was intended to be. The backstretch was filled with a cast of characters never found anywhere else in recorded history. I can recall many conversations with my late father who often frequented the place and at times raced the odd horse there. Despite his dislike for large cities, particularly Toronto, he seemed to be able to make an exception -- especially when Dufferin was in session. He said that at the time it was operating that people knew that it was a unique show, one that would never again be duplicated. Still somehow it had outlived its time and purpose, it just had run its course. Once gone, it could never be repeated.

Thus ended one of the truly great stories in the long and colourful history of both Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing in Canada. As the years roll by, less and less will be remembered about this fabled place but for most people the severance package included a lot of memories. Upon closing a noted Toronto sportswriter named Bobby Hewitson summed it up by saying "Closing up this track is like nailing a cover on a producing gold mine."

Dufferin would be no more.

An unidentified horse and driver tour the Dufferin track which was often adversely affected by the winter weather.