SC Rewind: Years Ago - 1940s

This week's edition of 'Rewind' takes readers back to the decade of the 1940s as Robert Smith offers the monthly 'Years Ago' column. Old photos and accounts of the happenings and personalities of the day make up the story.

1945 - Sorel, Quebec Track Among The Best

In the 1940's one of Quebec's best small-town racetracks was located in Sorel and referred to as "Royal Race Track." It was privately owned by Elzear Cournoyer and Lucien Lachappelle and managed by Honorat Larochelle, who was also a top horseman of the day and handled the fine stables of Mr. Cournoyer and Lachapelle headed by the likes of Guy H. and Duke Volo.

The following is a quote from Harness Horse magazine article that included the above picture.

"The fields were sent away from a special starting chute built on the same plans of the chutes used at the eastern Raceways in the United States. The system of starting the horses in this manner has become very popular with horsemen as well as spectators. The fields are sent away promptly without the continual scoring that is always the custom in other ways of getting them away."

1948 - Supertest Stakes Held At Tillsonburg Track

On the afternoon of July 14, 1948 a great day of racing was held at the town track in Tillsonburg. The headline event of the day was the Supertest pacing stake for three-year-olds. It carried a purse of $3,500, a sizable amount for that time. That year an excellent crop of pacing talent was in competition and in those days the fillies raced with their male counterparts. Once the eliminations were held those entrants with the best standing raced in the final.

The entry from the stable of Wm. and Jack Herbert of London which included Jay Herbert and Oro G Herbert took down all of the top money spots. The results shown below show that Jay Herbert driven by Bill Herbert won all three heats in which he was entered and paced the fastest mile in 2:08 2/5, a stakes record. Stablemate Oro G Herbert was second in the standings, that day handled by Alfie Moore. An outstanding performance was turned in by the filly Dixie Lee Hy who finished 2-4-4 for owner and driver Marshall Moore from Sarnia.

Results above courtesy of Harness Horse

1949 - New Record set at New Jersey State Fair

An old-time racing scene from around 1901 taken at a New Jersey track located in Westfield County at the Fair Acres Driving Club track. (Courtesy of Westfield Historical Society)

Long before the modern day tracks such as The Meadowlands and Atlantic City, the State of New Jersey was steeped in horse tradition with numerous tracks located throughout the State. Harness racing was part of most agricultural fairs and many small towns and villages included their own track.

In 1949 a very famous horse of the day visited that year's State Fair and established a new track record, bettering the existing one by trotting a mile in 2:03 4/5 which lowered the old standard by a full second. The Trenton oval was a mile track which might partially explain the excellent time recorded as this was 70 years ago.

Racing at the New Jersey State Fair, held at the Trenton Fairgrounds, is shown in the 1949 photo shown below. Horse racing began at the fairgrounds in 1867 and was billed as "The Finest Exhibition of Race Horses in the East." The last fair was held in 1980; the property is now home to Grounds for Sculpture.

See picture below which is part of this week's Quiz.

1949 - Barrie Holds Huge Race Day

On July 20, 1949 Barrie Fairgrounds was the scene of one of the largest race days held in the Province that season. A huge program consisting of 14 heats of racing was presented in front of a crowd listed at 2,000. Purses totalling $3,400 were offered. In order to accommodate the large crowd bus service was provided by the Barrie - Allandale Bus Co. from the foot of Mulcaster St.

The highlight of the day saw The Diplomat, owned by Londoner Alex Parsons, win all three heats of the "Barrie Pacing Stakes Free For All" and he also set a new track record of 2:08 1/5. His closest rival was Canada Direct owned by Mert Storey and driven by Keith Waples. The Diplomat had been recently purchased in the U.S. by Mr. Parsons, a prominent London hotel owner and placed in the hands of Lew James his contract driver and trainer. Mr. James, who later became a highly-respected O.J.C. race secretary, was in the sulky for this record-setting day. A bit later in August The Diplomat won that year's Canadian Pacing Derby at New Hamburg, Ont.

Quote For The Week:

"Everything is funny as long as it's happening to somebody else." - Will Rogers

Who Is It?

Can you identify this famous horse and equally famous driver as they appeared at the 1949 New Jersey State Fair in Trenton, N.J. as described above? (Courtesy of groundsforsculpture.org)

Where Was It?

Can you correctly identify the location of this very famous harness racing location? Clue; it was in the U.S.