In this week's Rewind Robert Smith remembers a special night held at Hanover Raceway 30 years ago. It involved a number of well-known individuals and also honoured an exceptional equine performer.
Over the years many theme, tribute or otherwise "special" nights have been held in our sport. Some were to honour a past contributor, further a charitable cause and just about every other reason imaginable. Whatever the chosen theme, most that I have ever attended or heard of, have normally turned out well. Usually the main obstacle would be the weather.
On the evening of Saturday, June 22, 1985 Hanover Raceway was the scene of what was called "Seelster Farms Night". The noted breeding centre donated trophy coolers for ten of the eleven races held that evening. On hand in addition to the Hanover officials were several members of the Van Bussel family, owners and operators of Seelster Farms of Lucan, Ont. At the conclusion of each race the winner received a very nice cooler for their efforts and also words of encouragement from the Van Bussels.
The evening also included a special appearance by the recently retired Devons Prince, who starred locally and also across the Province for owner Bruce and Glenna Clements of nearby Dobbinton, Ont. This horse was the current track record holder at Hanover by virtue of his clocking of 1:58.4 and was sired by the Seelster stallion Tarport Count. With Bruce in the driver's seat they paraded the horses postward for the feature race. Many in the audience cheered their approval and it also appeared that the young horse was probably still in racing form. His lifetime bankroll of $288,000 made him his late sire's richest performer.
Graced by pleasant weather and a fast track, a crowd of 1,169 passed through the turnstiles to view the races staged under the direction of Hanover General Manager Reg Gordon. The mutuel handle was $60,911.
In the opener the winner was Tammys Memory, scoring in 2:07 for owner Helen Stollar of Don Mills, Ont. In the bike for his first of two winning rides was Mark Etsell, who also took the ninth race behind three-year-old Dallas Almahurst gelding In Like Flint from the Garner Barn of Thornton. In the second tilt another double heat winning driver Larry Hughes was home first with Southline Deb, a trotting mare he co-owned with Raymond Bolt. He was back again to pick up another cooler following a win with Big Cat in the seventh for Stan Stephenson of Milverton.
The night's driving star was Gerald Sloan of Walkerton who scored a natural hat trick as he took top honours in the third behind Sea Shal, the fourth with Tee Jay Rubbles and closed out the trio of wins with Most, a four-year-old Rembrandt Hanover mare owned by locals Maurice Liefso and Stan Scott of Hanover. Mr. Scott was the Raceway's chairman. Wins were piling up for Sloan as his three this evening sent his total up to 22 in just eight nights of racing to date this season.
In the featured ninth race, a Conditioned Pace for a purse of $1,200, the winner in convincing fashion was the four-year-old Zip Tar mare Hilda Zip owner-driven by Bob MacDonnell who co-owned her with his wife Beverly. Hilda took command at the 3/4 pole and went on to win by open lengths in the fastest mile of the evening, a snappy 2:01.3. Following the race Peter Clements made a trackside presentation of the Devons Prince cooler to the MacDonnells of Allenford, who were long time friends of Peter's family.
It was an evening of presentations indeed as immediately following the feature race Stanley Scott, chairman of Hanover Raceway, unveiled a large framed colour photograph of Devons Prince. It was given to Bruce Clements and his family commemorating the track record performance by their speedster. One further exchange took place and this was a surprise presentation of a handsome plaque made by Reg Gordon to the Van Bussell brothers Gerry, Jim and Chris for their tremendous contributions to the industry. He also thanked them for their presence on this memorable evening.
I would like to add a few lines to recognize the Clements family who were also instrumental in presenting this evening and making it such a success. While both Bruce and Glenna have now passed on, several of their remaining family members are still involved in the sport.
Many years ago dating back to the late 1950's and early 60's, and long before Devons Prince, the Clements brought out a number of first class horses; many were trotters. In the early years, their horses were campaigned by a close friend -- the great horseman Allan Walker. Bruce, who was always a cattle farmer, eventually extended his involvement in the horse business to training and he later took up doing all of his own driving. He and Glenna worked as a team for many years at a lot of Ontario based tracks where they enjoyed numerous good seasons. They personified what harness racing was once about when hard work, dedication and perseverance led to success on the racetrack. They ran a small stable that always contained quality performers.
One of their early good horses was a very nice trotting mare named Cotton Maid (by Rodney), who sported a record of 2:06.2 at a time when that was quite remarkable. She was secured as a four-year-old and remained in their ownership thereafter. They later had such horses as Cadenza, Fearless Doc, Long Distance and scores more as part of their stable. Mrs. Clements was very involved with the care and paddocking of the horses and did a great deal of the grooming duties. While she was caring for Fearless Doc, she had the unfortunate happening of losing her thumb as a result of being bitten by this sometimes cantankerous steed. During the summer of 1965 I spent quite a bit of time just down the shed row from their stable and visited with Bruce and Glenna many times. They were truly gracious people who really enjoyed their intense involvement in the sport. Win or lose, they both invariably ended their day with a smile.
(Pictured above are Glenna and husband driver Bruce Clements in the winner's circle with Invitational trotter Fearless Doc, an outstanding performer for their stable in the 1960's. This was taken in 1969 following a victory in The Don Mills Trot.)
I knew both a little, fine
I knew both a little, fine people. I am surprised Bruce was brave or foolish enough to turn his back on Fearless Doc for the winners photo, but I recall he did say the horse was less angry when he won!!