SC Rewind: Years Ago - 1940s

This week's Rewind offering is the monthly feature Years Ago. This time it's all about names, faces and happenings from the decade of the 1940's. This era was an exciting time in the sport as many advancements were being made.

1943 - Lorne Lee Wins Futurity

The Top Three-Year-Old Pacer Of 1943: Owner A.D."Baldy" McKillop of West Lorne, Ont. proudly displays the silver tray won by his three-year-old pacer Lorne Lee. Trainer and driver Blake Buchan looks on.

On the afternoon of September 8, 1943 the best three-year-old pacers available lined up at Stratford, Ontario, the scene of many of the early year Futurities. Unfortunately I do not know just how many faced the starter that day but I do know who won the big prize. One outstanding colt from that year's crop of three-year-olds was The Count B. He was in action that season but due to an illness or lameness was not able to participate that day, thus opening up the possibility for an upset winner.

LORNE LEE, a three-year-old son of the popular sire Corporal Lee owned by Mr. A.D. "Baldy" McKillop of West Lorne, Ont., was the winner of that year's prize which amounted to the princely sum of $2,550 as the full purse. The youngster was trained and driven by a gentleman named Blake Buchan of Rodney, Ont. His winning time was 2:11, well off of the record of 2:07 set by Bob Lee in 1939 at Strathroy, Ont. The purse was among the lowest in the race's 15-year history.

Although it is a bit of a stretch, the winner of the 1943 Canadian Standardbred Horse Society Futurity which garnered Lorne Lee's owner a paltry $1,250 was about as close to today's Pepsi North America Cup winner as then existed. The race winner had unofficial bragging rights as the sport's top (or close to it) three-year-old pacer of the season in Canada. We've come a long way, baby.

1945 - World Record For Dead Heat at Lexington

Oct. 7, 1945 - This year's edition of The Lexington Trots are now complete and featured many fine races as well as a new world record. On closing day, Beatrice Hanover captured the featured $10,300 Trotting Oaks stakes. Owned by the Arden Homestead Stables and driven by Harry Pownall, the mare won both heats, trotting the fastest mile in the opener 2:04 3/4.

The world's record for a dead heat was lowered to 2:05 when Earls Moody Guy and Ouster Volo could not be separated at the wire in the Conditioned Trot. Ouster Volo, who was owned and driven by Guy Cleveland of Carmi, N.Y., was then 14 years old and was used to help plow 150 acres of farm land at the Cleveland farm this past year. Besides the dead heat victory this old fellow also recorded four wins at this meeting.

Millbrook, driven by Eddie Havens, paced to a new record of 1:59 1/4 during this gathering to give Volomite his 13th 2:00 performer. Prior to the 1945 season this horse raced on the trot.

1946 - Blue Again Wins The 1946 Derby At New Hamburg, Ont.

In 1946 BLUE AGAIN was the winner in three straight heats. His fastest winning time of 2:04 1/2 was an all-time Derby record which stood as the best of all 22 races held at New Hamburg. The winning driver shown here was Harold Wellwood, then 40 years of age. Harold's winning mile set a new track record and netted him $100 (see below), a prize that had been unclaimed for many years. Blue Again was owned by R. W. Leatherdale of Windsor, Ont. (LFP Photo)

After the record setting mile Harold allegedly said "I'm never going to reset my stopwatch because it's unlikely that I'll ever go this fast again."

I had the privilege of discussing this day with Harold on more than one occasion. He related a funny story that Mr. Leatherdale, Blue Again's owner, showed up at the barn at the end of the day's racing to announce that he had pocketed another $100 for breaking the track record. Harold soon explained to him that the prize was for the winning driver, not the owner and suggested that he hand over the envelope without further ado! (Rumor has it that Mr. Leatherdale was not universally known for his generosity)

1948 - Guy H. Goes Over $30,000 Career

Guy H. parades at the St. Jerome track for driver Honorat Larochelle and owner Elzear Cournoyer of Saint Joseph de Sorel, Que. (Photo courtesy of Rene Cournoyer)

June 13, 1948 - Quebec's top pacer Guy H. saw his career earnings go over the $30,000 mark this season. Campaigning on both sides of the border, the bay speedster who possessed a lifetime best of 2:00 3/4 thrilled a huge crowd at the St. Jerome, Quebec track on this date. Note - the estimated value of $30,000 in today's dollars would be approx. $362,000.

This spot located about 45 kilometers (28 mi) northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord held three race days this season but this one was by far the biggest with the feature race going for $2,075. Named the "Hotel Lapointe Pace" a handsome trophy was presented by the hotel's proprietor, Alfred Lapointe.

The following handwritten inscription appeared on the reverse side of this old photo. "De gauche à droite: Maurice Huot un des organisateurs, Elzéar Cournoyer le propriétaire du cheval, Alfred LaPointe le donateur du trophée Hotel Lapointe, Honorat Larochelle le conducteur, Elzéar Lavigne." (Photo by Geo. Allaire, St. Jerome, P.Q.)

1949 - Race Day Held At Rodney Fairgrounds

A partial view of the Rodney grandstand during race day at that southern Ontario town (Photo courtesy of Elgin County archives)

June 8, 1949 - A fine afternoon of racing was held here under the direction of the Rodney Turf Club. Entries from as far away as Toronto were present for the five-race card that featured 13 heats. All races were started by the McDonnell starting gate from Hamilton.

The featured Free For All with a purse of $400 saw a different winner in each heat. Alice G., from the stable of Nate Neeley of Sarnia, was declared the overall winner with a standing of 2-3-1 for driver "Shorty" Powell. Audrey Scott paced the day's fastest mile of 2:10 for owner Dick Scott of Toronto who also drove. Billie Direct Heir won the opening heat for Marsh McFadden of Dresden with son 'Jiggs' McFadden in the sulky.

Local horseman George Sherman of Rodney was a two-heat winner with his up and coming three-year-old Dillon The Great driven by Bill Fraser. This colt went on to win that year's Supertest while banking close to $3,000. Later in the season Lloyd Turvey took over the driving duties which included the Supertest victory.

A view of the start of a race at Rodney was taken by a photographer from the St. Thomas Times-Journal newspaper. This was an unusual angle because the mobile starting gate was very new at this time. This gate was owned and operated by Tom McDonnell of Hamilton, the man who introduced this new innovation to the Ontario scene in 1947. The eventual winner of this race was Dillon The Great mentioned elsewhere. (Photo courtesy of Elgin County archives)

Quote For The Week: "A recent study says that eating a hot dog may reduce your lifespan by 36 minutes."

Who Is It?

Can you identify this gentleman, a once very popular and successful all around horseman?

Who Else Is It?

Can you identify this pair of drivers? No further clues offered at this time.

Bonus Photo

Who can figure out the gentleman in the sulky? He is a Canadian at a U.S. track close to 50 years ago. Good Luck.