Photo Karen Graham.
They pulled out all the stops for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of harness racing at Kawartha Downs last Saturday, with a full schedule from morning until dark.
The event drew so many that several police officers were required to control traffic on County Rd. 28 to maintain the flow of spectators. Overflow parking in the adjacent field made sure there was room for everyone.
Photo Karen Graham.
The day began with an antique car show organized by the Bewdley Lions’ Club, featuring more than 225 vehicles. The event was underwritten by Kawartha Downs, which donated $10,000 to the club of which $6,000 was handed out in prize money.
In the afternoon, a large, temporary bandstand on the west side of the parking lot was the site of a free concert featuring Canadian rock legend Kim Mitchell.
By mid-afternoon, horses were circling the track, gearing up for the return of Standardbred Horse Races for the 2022 season. Prior to post time, an opening ceremony introduced a number of dignitaries arriving by horse-driven carriages across the front of the track, including MPP Laurie Scott, Mayor Scott McFadden, and Ray Lowery with his wife Fran.
Photo Karen Graham.
Ray was invited to allow the new owners to acknowledge his role as one of the founders of the Kawartha Downs race track. It opened in 1972, replacing the Morrow Park as the local race track location. At the time, Ray was Vice President of the Peterborough Racing Authority, the group that decided to relocate horse racing to its new Fraserville location, which occurred through grassroots funding from local race participants. At that time, the racing authority ran an extensive program every weekend during the season, but the number of races was cut significantly and remains at 18 a season, which has resulted in many local race horse owners leaving the industry.
At six pm, the main event began with the return of Standardbred Horseracing at the track. Each of the nine races were completed in less than 2 minutes, and offered purses from $3,700 to $4,900 for the victors. Some shrewd gamblers raked in similar rewards, with the Triactor on the sixth race paying $4,518.80. Each race was named for the dignitary who had the honour of placing the blanket on the winning horse.
Of course the event required food, and the selections ranged from a casual outdoor BBQ to a Prime Rib buffer in the dining room.
This was the first significant public event held at the venue since its acquisition by Romspen Investment Corp., which purchased the location two years ago. It has developed a significant redevelopment plan for the location designed to make it an entertainment destination. Among the projects in the revitalization plan is the redevelopment of the existing building into a large indoor concert hall which will also serve as a convention hall; an outdoor concert facility; a permanent tractor pull facility with a spectator capacity of are an indoor concert hall; an agricultural exhibit space; a FIFA soccer field; a 220-room hotel and a residential development of 588 new homes.
The next event is a Festival Weekend over the Canada Day weekend, featuring a Festival of Retro Music, with fireworks in the evening on July 2 followed by Festival of Country and Western bands the on July 3rd.
Mayor McFadden was delighted with the event, saying, “It was great to see such an incredible turnout of families, friends, and neighbours, enjoying the numerous events and festivities that were exceptionally well organized throughout the day. The commitment by the owners of Kawartha Downs, to the complete revitalization of the entire facility is very exciting for our entire community. A huge thanks to all of the organizers that made it happen.”
