In this week's edition of Rewind, Robert remembers a bit of the long and colourful history of the famous Canadian Pacing Derby and also recalls a very special “Derby Day” race card from almost 40 years ago.
When the field lines up this evening for the 2025 edition of the Canadian Pacing Derby, it will be the renewal of a tradition that dates back to 1936. According to my calculator, that’s 89 years! Granted, it’s not quite that many actual races, as this annual affair took a “breather” for seven years between 1958 and 1965.
The fine print read: “Winner of nineteen races out of twentyfour starts. In other five races was always second in one heat. NEVER OUTSIDE OF MONEY.”
The first ever Derby was held at New Hamburg’s Fountain Park on Aug. 12, 1936. Raced as a three-heat affair involving a total of eight entrants, it went for a purse of $1,275. That inaugural win went to a horse called Better Times, pictured above. The fastest winning heat was timed in 2:07, considered a very “good” mile back then.
The race was an immediate success in every regard, as it drew the top racing talent available and was always viewed by exceptionally large crowds. Many old photographs provide a graphic image of the race days and the spirit of the times.
The race’s original organizers included a number of townsfolk who were not horse owners nor directly connected to harness racing, but were interested in seeing the sport prosper. They provided their time, energy, and interest mainly without compensation. Their efforts provided the groundwork for what would become a great and enduring race.
Many years ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Thomas C. Kirkpatrick, a New Hamburg medical doctor who served as the Turf Club’s original president. He practiced medicine there for 43 years and lived to see his 97th year, passing away in 2001.
The following is an excerpt from an earlier Rewind in 2015 discussing the Derby’s history:
“By the time the 1936 racing season was underway the newly organized New Hamburg Turf Club was formed and many meetings had been held; most of the ‘hot stove’ variety. A local feed store owner, a butcher from the nearby hamlet of Baden and a New Hamburg medical doctor were among the founding members. Dr. T.C. Kilpatrick was the Club’s first president and once modestly told me, ‘I guess I got the job because nobody else wanted it.’ The doctor, while never owning actual harness horses, had often used his trusty driving horse in a cutter to make house visits in rural areas when the roads were drifted in.”
Shown above is a great view of the 1937 Canadian Pacing Derby at Fountain Park in New Hamburg, Ont. This is a cover shot from the August 8, 1984 issue of The Standardbred when I gave a three-part history of this great race and its traditions. The leading horse is Peter Chilcoot, owned by the Hon. Earl Rowe and driven by Clint Hodgins, who went on to national stardom. The background view speaks volumes about the yesteryears of our sport.
Derby Day 1986 – Greenwood’s Fastest Card Ever on Record
On Saturday, Aug. 16, 1986, which happened to be “Derby Day” that year, the horses were literally flying around the Greenwood oval. At the end of racing that day, it turned out to be the fastest card of racing in history at that venerable old track on the shores of Lake Ontario.
The average time for the night was a sizzling 1:55.3. The main event of the night, the Canadian Pacing Derby, saw two stunning track record miles paced by Witsends Gypsy. The “Derby,” Canada’s oldest harness stakes event, enticed 17 entries that year, which necessitated eliminations. This was the first time that had occurred in the 43-year history of the race.
Witsends Gypsy (4) is shown winning his elimination heat of the 1986 Canadian Pacing Derby in record time. Larry Walker was in the sulky for owner Anthony Chiaravalle.
Witsends Gypsy cruises home a winner in the 1986 Canadian Pacing Derby with Larry Walker driving. Their mile time of 1:53.3 set a new Greenwood track record and combined for a two-heat world record.
Witsends Gypsy, the eventual winner, went wire to wire in the first $36,300 elimination under the guidance of veteran reinsman Larry Walker, halting the teletimer in a blistering 1:53.4, which was a new all-age track record. Walker, then just 39, hailed from a noted racing family best known for their involvement with trotters. On this day, and many others, he showed that he was pretty adept at handling pacers as well.
In the second elimination, also for $36,300, Windsor-born Dan Johnson driving Ring Of Light closed from third at the top of the stretch to wheel past the exhausted pacesetters and win by a length over second-place finisher The Denman. Their winning time was somewhat slower, 1:55.1 — still pretty impressive and slightly quicker than the average established that date.
In the $108,900 final, Walker urged Witsends Gypsy to the lead past the opening quarter in :27.2. The pair never looked back from this point, reaching the half in :56, three-quarters in 1:25, and then turned it on — sprinting away from the pack and opening up at least three lengths at the wire.
Owned by Anthony Chiaravalle and trained by Bill Robinson, Witsends Gypsy went even faster in the final, breaking the beam in 1:53.3 to break his own track record set earlier, and also set a world record for aged horses for a combined time for two heats.
Ring Of Light, owned by the trio of Arnold Bachner, Hanley Dawson Jr., and Castleton Farms, finished second with Danny Johnson driving. Their individual time was recorded as 1:54.2. In for third was Hy Class Minbar, a Western invader with Brent Grundy steering.
Also joining in on the tremendous “speed show” on that date was the pacing mare Enroute, who was a two-heat winner in the Roses Are Red Stakes. After Reanna won the first elim in 1:56.1, Enroute was a winner of the second elimination in an identical 1:56.1. She returned for the final and scored in 1:56, a time which equalled the great Fan Hanover’s track mark for mares.
Enroute was owned by Brittany Farms and trained by Fred Grant. Reanna was owned by the Durbridge Stable of Dutton, Ont., and driven by Dave Wall.
Enroute (7) with Bill O’Donnell wins The Roses Are Red Stakes at Greenwood on Saturday, Aug. 16, 1986. This photo was taken at the finish of the elimination race. She went on to also take the final. O’Donnell, then based in New Jersey, was back in Canada for the stakes engagement.
This was one of the many great days of racing that took place at Greenwood Raceway. This track was built originally as a trotting track in 1874 and was named Woodbine Park at the time. The track site, which hosted both thoroughbred and standardbred racing for parts of two centuries, was situated on an 80-acre tract of land in the east end of Toronto. A short seven years after this momentous day, Greenwood closed forever.
Quote For The Week: “Sometimes talking to strangers turns into the most beautiful thing in the world.” – Unknown
Who Is It?
Can you correctly identify this horse and driver? They were previous Derby winners.
Who Else Is It?
Can you correctly identify this horse and driver? They were previous Derby winners.
(The correct answers will be posted here by Robert as a comment in a few days.)