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 and Prospect Series races, view memorabilia from seasons past, enjoy giveaways and more. Don’t miss the next celebration date as the OSS tour heads to Kawartha Downs, where fans will be able to take in some OSS Grassroots and Prospect action on Friday, July 19. Kawartha Downs will also be hosting its first Wiener Dog Derby and the Bill Galvin Racing Alliance will be on hand with the Virtual Reality racing experience.
Kawartha Downs, located in Fraserville Ont., just a bit south of Peterborough, is one of the original tracks that has hosted OSS racing from its very beginning.
The history of the Kawartha track is just two years older than the OSS itself. This track, along with Barrie Raceway, were very new at the time and it immediately became very popular with both the horsepeople, who put on the show, and the fans, who attended in large numbers.
This area was rich in harness racing history and tradition, thanks to the venerable Morrow Park that closed as Kawartha debuted.
The general area where this track is located has long been known for its wealth of fine horsepeople, many with a couple of generations involved in the sport. Numerous names familiar to fans at the larger tracks started their careers at Kawartha Downs.
Drivers such as the three Hie brothers (Carman, Doug and the late Roger), Garth Gordon, Paul MacDonell, Tony Kerwood, Reg Gassien, Gord and Doug Brown, and many more, started out at Kawartha. They later went on to successful careers but always remembered their roots.
The new plant opened for racing under the lights on July 22, 1972. The opening night card consisted of a total of 10 races. In the first race ever at the new oval, Frank Conlin guided the four-year-old maiden pacer Bold Battles to a win in 2:08.4 for owner Joseph Guest of Hampton, Ont. Early in its history, Kawartha Downs was coined “The Class ‘A’ of the ‘B’ Circuit.”
While much of the original racing facility remains intact, a few things have changed. The original barns, which housed about 80 horses and were intended for year-round occupancy, are no longer used for that purpose. They now serve as temporary quarters used on race days for ship-ins. The original ship-in barn was razed a few years ago and a paddock capable of staging three races serves the track’s current needs.
That first year, the Kawartha oval hosted its initial OSS action on July 13, 1974. The first group to compete for the increased purses being offered for these events were the two-year-old filly pacers.
To mark that special day, a total of 13 freshman fillies were on hand, split into two divisions. In the opener, which drew six starters, the winner was Bay Comet, a daughter of Highland Express from the barn of James Keeling Sr. and his son James Jr. of Owen Sound. Murray Waples, also the trainer, was in the sulky for the winning trip timed in 2:08.2, which would be a season’s best for the filly.
In the second division, Western Kate and driver Ken Webb, who hailed from nearby Port Hope, bested a slightly larger field of seven in an almost identical time of 2:08.4. The owner of this filly was Greg Unger of Caledon East, Ont.
Each event went for a purse of around $5,400. This was a huge amount, especially when you consider the highest purse of the card was $700 as the featured event outside of the stakes events. That race went to Knee Boots C, handled by local driver Carman Hie, in a time of 2:05.
An example of the earning power that the new OSS program provided was evident in this grouping. At season’s end, the top money-winning filly was Epiphany (who did not race this day), who topped all others in her class with a total of $55,500 banked for owners Dr. Gord Johnstone of Fenelon Falls and Bud McCardle. In 12 seasons of starts, this daughter of Moorelands Dan won just two races, but also finished second and third twice. Al Nicholls was her regular driver. Those much higher purses made a huge difference.
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In 1984, Kawartha became home to the fastest mile in OSS history when Mystery Skipper toured the oval in 1:55.3 with Doug Arthur in the sulky. This fast-pacing son of Senor Skipper, who was a resident at nearby Kawartha Farms, was owned by Kim and Danny Husted along with trainer/driver Doug Arthur and his wife Linda.
Apaches Fame and driver Brad Fritz set a two-year-old pacing track record at Kawartha Downs in 1:56.3 on Aug. 26, 1989.
One of the truly talented performers to race in OSS events, this horse showed his early greatness while racing at Kawartha. In late August, 1989, as a very green two-year-old, this fellow set an amazing track record of 1:56.3, fast for any age performer but certainly “blazing speed” for a colt just starting out. Soon after this record-shattering performance, Bud Fritz, Brad’s father took over the driving chores behind this horse. He went on at both two and three to win consistently and draw huge crowds wherever he travelled.
Members of the ownership group known as Dover’s Venture II Stable included Bob Chapple, Dr. Jan Venclik, Ross Cushman, Tom Lightbody and Gary Nolte. They’re shown at the right of the photo.
Ten years into the program, stars such as General D Brook were emerging. As a three-year-old, this colt sired by Laryngitis had a very productive year in 1984. He strutted behind the gate in all 13 events and returned victorious eight times, adding three seconds and one third. His earnings were $109,666 in OSS competition alone, which was the most by any competitor of either gait. He lowered his lifetime best to 2:02.1 at Kawartha, capping a three-win streak. This speedy youngster was owned by the Flear Stables of Rosemont and handled by Jim McClure.
“Bred to pace but loves to trot,” might apply to Nadirs Pride, a two-year-old trotting filly owned by The Forbes Cattle Co. of Walkerton. The young miss stepped to a Canadian season’s record of 2:03.4 on June 25,1985 at Greenwood. The daughter of Armbro Nadir, out of Native Sister, and driven by trotting specialist Robert Walker, led all two-year-old filly trotters in winnings at year’s end with $106,818. The rookie trotting filly was a good investment as she was sold as a Royal Blue yearling sale for an affordable $6,000. Owner Eugene Forbes is at the left and her groom was Ted MacDonnell, second from left.
In 1985, this fast-stepping filly visited Kawartha on June 6 as part of a group of 22 juvenile trotting fillies to start off that year’s OSS action. After three divisions, she was the fastest winner in 2:05.4.
Another outstanding filly, Wendys Joker, from that year’s crop, also won a division with Pat Crowe doing the driving.
Two-year-old trotting colt Turmeric was a standout during the 1982 season. The son of Dream Of Glory out of Armbro Spice was owned by the R.G. McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, N.B. and driven by Ron Waples. In late October, this colt made history at Windsor Raceway when the track’s largest purse ever of $83,104 was offered for an OSS event. Coming into the race, he had already had a fantastic season winning nine of 18 starts. With earnings of $159,930, he led all OSS performers at the time. He ended the season with total earnings of $200,072, which was an amazing total. He won nine of 19 starts and led all of his competitors in OSS earnings with $180,307. This was the largest amount earned in a single season in the nine seasons the OSS had existed. Originally trained by Archie McNeill, he had a groom who went by the name of “Pluck.”
Veras Image and driver Larry Walker are shown scoring before a race. This filly was an outstanding performer in OSS action in 1995 and 1996. She was also an O’Brien Award winner in 1995 in the two-year-old trotting filly category. She was owned by Dr. Donald Furness and his brother, Dave, who was also her trainer. She had a strong pedigree and was eventually sold for $300,000.
Larry Walker is a member of a well known harness racing family and one of three driving brothers, along with Robert and Paul. His sister also often drove in races, as did his mother Viola. His father, Allan, is a member of the Hall of Fame.
(Robert Smith / Ontario Racing)