SC Rewind: Years Ago - 1930s

In this week's edition of Rewind, Robert Smith takes a look back at some of the personalities and events from the decade of the 1930s in the ongoing monthly feature Years Ago. This time period is getting close to 100 years ago. Despite the passage of time, the world of harness racing had a lot going on back then.

1935 - Grand Circuit Visits Thorncliffe Park in Toronto

An item from the January 1936 Hoof Beats magazine read: "A stirring scene in the fast trot at Toronto (Thorncliffe Raceway). Vansandt at the pole with Mary Reynolds at his side; Kashmary trailing and Angel Child on the outside. The second-over horse at the lead was driven by Sep Palin, the man who drove Greyhound."

Two weeks of first-class racing were held at the Thorncliffe Track, concluding on July 26. Virtually all of the top Grand Circuit performers from the large U.S. stables were in competition throughout the meeting. Many arrived and left by railcar. This was quite an accomplishment at the time to have Grand Circuit racing in Canada.

The stables of such top trainers as Vic Fleming, Tom Berry, Sep Palin, Doc Parshall, and many others showcased their top performers in all of the G.C. events. A number of Canadian horsemen were active as well, with names such as Cliff Chapman, Harold Wellwood, Billy Lawson, Harold Currie, and Cy Feathers appearing in the summaries. The two-year-old filly Rosalind made headlines by taking three wins in four starts.

1936 - Strathroy Race Day a Huge Success

A view of the Strathroy grandstand shows a large crowd on hand for the annual Dominion Day Picnic (Photo courtesy of D.B. Weldon Library – University of Western Ontario, London).

July 1, 1936 – A large crowd that arrived well before the first-race post time filled every square inch of the Strathroy Fairgrounds as part of the Dominion Day celebrations. The annual “Picnic,” as it was called, was first held at this site in 1919 and the tradition had continued each year since.

The long race day featured four races, each going three heats. The purse for each race was $400, somewhat higher than many other local meetings. The popular three-year-old race had dual winners with Larry Grattan taking two heats after finishing second in the opener. Gordon Knights of Blenheim was the owner. The other winner was Dillinger Grattan, owned and driven by Lindley Fraser of Forest, Ont.

Race organizer Harold Currie and his son Len were the only three-heat winners of the day, as he scored a triple behind his good mare Trixie G. Her fastest score was timed in 2:11 in a field of six starters. The day’s quickest mile was 2:09 1/2, turned in by Grattan Axworthy, owned by Walter Booth of Delhi, Ont.

This rather famous racing spot continued to hold top-class races each year until 1964 when the long-standing tradition was discontinued. Crowds numbering in the several thousands attended most years.

1937 - Unique Event Happens at Tillsonburg Race Day

The photo shown below graced the Aug. 9, 1937 issue of the Canadian Sportsman. In those long-ago days it was somewhat of a rarity to have pictures included. The appearance of three generations of the same family in the same race was believed to be the only time it had occurred in history up to that point.

On August 2, 1937, three members of the then well-known Tolhurst family competed on the same program at the Tillsonburg, Ont. Fairgrounds. It was familiar territory for the family as they had all driven there many times and were well known in the community as residents of nearby Dereham Township.

The elder Tolhurst was Lovell D. (Love for short), who was in his 80th year. His son Fred, who listed Hamilton as home, was 47. Rounding out the trio was Lorne Tolhurst, the son of Fred and grandson of Lovell. He was a mere lad of 24 at the time. Lorne went on to enjoy a very lengthy and successful career as a trainer and driver on the highly competitive U.S. circuit, particularly at the New York State tracks. He later returned to Canada.

1939 - New Track Record at Northam, P.E.I. Track

A view of the Northam track where many outstanding race days were held beginning in 1931.

July 26, 1939 – A crowd of about 1,800 fans witnessed an afternoon of top-class racing at the beautiful Northam track. The highlight of the meeting was the performance of Barney Hanover, which saw him win in a new track-record time of 2:08 flat. Owned by C.M. Alexander of Saint John and driven to perfection by Tyndall Semple, veteran Kensington reinsman, Barney Hanover delighted many of the paying customers. His win rewarded backers to the tune of $17.00 on a two-dollar wager.

His three-heat win was compared by a writer covering the races as being reminiscent of some past greats of the region such as Tollgate and Marjorie M., who had thrilled fans in days gone by. During the afternoon, an announcement was made that most of the contestants in this day’s program would be in action the following week at Montague.

The newspaper ads leading up to race day stated that once the day’s races were completed, attendees were welcome to stay and join in some dancing. The facilities apparently had a rather large dance floor, able to accommodate quite a crowd.

Courtesy of The Charlottetown Guardian archives

The Northam track was a beautiful spot, first opened in 1931. It was built by two enterprising gentlemen who had made a considerable amount of money as fox ranchers. Edgar Milligan and George Morrison invested in the plant, which pioneered night-time racing in the area. Unfortunately, both gentlemen died in an automobile crash shortly after, thus missing out on much of the track’s glory years.

Quote For The Week – “In order to be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid.” – Unknown

Who Is It?

Can you identify this gentleman who had a distinguished career racing throughout the Maritime tracks in days gone by?

A fellow horseman claimed that this fellow knew more about horse racing in his sleep than many others knew while wide awake and driving down the track. He won twenty-five hundred races during his career—and those are only the ones that were recorded. (Copied from his bio)

Where Was It?

INSTANT CASH – Can you identify where this photo was taken? Back in the day when bettors ran out of cash they either relied on a friend for a “quick ten” or headed for home. By the time this was taken, people could tap into their bank account and keep on losing — or maybe get lucky!

(The correct answers will be posted here by Robert as a comment in a few days.)

Blast From The Past

During the Depression, fuel prices became so hard to keep up with that many people, particularly those in the deep U.S. South, were forced to “modify” their cars and trucks, sometimes completely cutting out the front end of the vehicle and hooking horses and mules to them. These became known as “Hoover Carts,” after the President who was blamed for the economic downfall.