The Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary season this year with special anniversary dates at tracks around the province where fans will be able to watch OSS Gold or Grassroots races, view memorabilia from seasons past, enjoy giveaways and more. Don’t miss the next celebration date as the OSS tour heads to Dresden Raceway, where fans will be able to take in some Grassroots and Prospect series action on Monday, July 1.
Dresden Raceway, often dubbed “Little Saratoga,” is an original host track for the Ontario Sires Stakes.
In 1973, when the tracks were selected for the new series, Dresden was an obvious choice. Harness racing at this quaint spot traces its history back to the 1800s and has always been considered a hotbed of the sport, now in its third century.
When night racing came to Ontario in 1961, this track soon followed suit as a very busy and successful “B” track for many years under the leadership of George Deacon. They started racing under the lights in 1966 and many local horsepeople joined in and were highly successful.
A number of well-known family names have long been associated with harness racing in the Dresden area. Names such as McFadden, Johnston, Goudreau, List, Dell, Booth, Tiffin, Coke, Moore and countless more are included. Colt racing started here long before the days of OSS events and for many years the long-running Supertest Stakes were often contested at the Dresden oval.
In the summer of 1974, the first OSS visit to the Dresden track featured the two-year-old trotters in action on July 13. With 10 entrants, the field was split into two divisions.
In the first group, the winner was Dillers Demon, Delvin Herbert was second and Mr. Gilks third. Scott Rowe was the winning driver in a rather slow 2:17.4.
In the second division, Mighty Tory was the winner in 2:14, with Jack Kopas in the bike for owners Harold and Gordon Shipp. Finishing third was a memorable performer, Snegem Flight, who came on strong later in the season for driver Bill Megens (who co-owned the son of Tompkins with his wife Antoinette). To demonstrate the earning power the OSS represented, this horse won more than $50,000 in total that season. The opportunity to earn such sums in a single season could never have happened without this new series.
By the time the 1978 season began at Dresden, OSS races were a feature of opening day. In just five years since the series started, the purses had risen dramatically and this smalltown track had its largest purse in its 14-year history, $50,000, for the two-year-old pacing fillies.
OSS Scrapbook Memories
Above is Twinkles Delight, a daughter of D Judge with driver “Smiling” Fred Goudreau. “Freddy” was a perennial favourite at Dresden, along with his son Shelley. This filly pacer had an outstanding two-year-old campaign in 1977 and in just the fourth year of OSS competition not only led her division but ended the season as the highest money winner of any age or gait thus far. Her $97,855 total eclipsed the previous high for a season set by the three-year-old trotting colt Snegem Flight in 1975, when he earned $96,114.
This horse was owned by Manual Cabral of Bothwell and Larry Dawson of Dresden, a neighbour of Fred and Jackie Goudreau. It looks like a young member of the Cabral family is seated in the sulky. By November of 1979, this filly had an incredible 12 wins in 17 starts.
An excerpt from a 1977 Windsor Star ad had the following to say about this amazing filly: “In her first campaign, Twinkles Delight has piled up earnings of $102,262, a mark seldom achieved by some of the greatest names in harness racing history and probably the best ever for a Canadian-foaled filly.”
The striking roan son of Meadow Gene, Double Gene (5) with Wes Coke in the sulky starred as both a two- and three-year-old in 1977. He’s shown in a winning effort at Greenwood for owners The Glori Bell Stables of Toronto. The second-place finisher was driven by Fred Gillis. In 1976, at age two, this horse led the pack as he earned a nifty $89,848 in OSS competition, which was the most earned by a pacer in the first three years of the series. Coke had success with a number of performers on the OSS trail, often working with his father Cecil. They were from Petrolia, Ont.
Snegem Flight and owner/driver Bill Megens are shown above in full flight. This horse came along at an opportune time and scored big in OSS action at both two and three. As a three-year-old, he banked an amazing $96,114 during the 1975 season. This figure would stand as the largest single season amount for six years until Armbro Acadian, a two-year-old, earned just over $115,000.
This was an amazing horse that eventually went on to compete at Roosevelt Raceway when he ran out of competition at Canadian tracks. Megens has spent a very interesting lifetime in harness racing and his life story is still being played out as he continues to be very active past his 90th birthday.
When the OSS series began in 1974, it soon became feasible for horsepeople to travel much longer distances to compete. In the picture above from 1982, was a horse from far Eastern Ontario in the Ottawa valley who made the trip to Dresden in southern Ontario. The results were not always as positive as this race was but the higher purses often made it worthwhile to make the trip.
Itldo and owner/driver Lloyd Butler of Dresden receives a trophy for their efforts over a muddy track in the picture above. In both 1975 and 1976, this trotting colt led his division in money earnings. In OSS events, he showed that a small stable operator could succeed as the son of High Level made over $40,000 at two and another $52,000 as a three-year-old. Speed was not a factor as at two his fastest mile was clocked in 2:09.4 on a five-eighths-mile track (at Mohawk). In this event, a purse of $51,000-plus made for a big payday. As a three-year-old, he moved up a bit, trotting a mile in 2:05.4 during a season in which he won nine of 18 starts to go along with four second-place finishes.
Dovers Surge, shown above driven by Dave Wall, was owned by Robert Chapple of Chatham. In his two- and three-year-old seasons, this trotting colt by Surge Hanover banked a total of $173,351 in 1978 and 1979. He took a three-year-old record of 2:02.2 while winning three races, but was also four times second, along with five third-place finishes. This was just one of the many top-flight performers trained and driven by Dave Wall and his well-oiled operation.
Wall was a long-time popular driver at Dresden, often either winning or contending for top spot in the driver and training standings.
(Robert Smith / Ontario Racing)