SC Rewind: The First Monctonian

In this week's Rewind Robert Smith takes readers back to 1947, 75 years ago, to one of Canadian harness racing's greatest days as the post WWII era began. The story is centred around a great race day in the Maritimes at Moncton, New Brunswick.  Although referred to as Moncton,  the actual track location was Leger's Corner in Dieppe, N.B.   

As the world began to emerge from the shadows of WWII,  everyone involved with the sport of harness racing was eager to see things moving forward again now that the war had ended and things moved back to so-called "normal". Part of the rekindling of harness racing in New Brunswick included the construction of a new track at Moncton under the leadership of George B. Gay.

After an absence of racing in the area for almost a decade the sport was revived during the past summer in July 1946.  This year, in 1947,  a three-day harness meet was scheduled in late July.  The feature event held on Friday was the first ever "Monctonian",  a Free For All pacing event that carried an unheard of $5,000 purse. That sum was by far the largest ever offered for a single race in Eastern Canada.  The field of 11 starters was the "cream of Maritime horses" as described in the Charlottetown Guardian newspaper, the voice of the sport in this area.   In total, the three days of racing offered purses amounting to $8,500.  This amount increased as another day of racing was eventually added.  

This event was unique in a number of ways and was scheduled as the first time that a photo finish camera was to be used at Moncton.  Mr. Godfrey, the gentleman who introduced this innovative piece of equipment to the area, was reportedly making the rounds to nearby tracks just before the big race day.  His plans included using his equipment at the Blue Acres track in New Glasgow as well as at the Truro Exhibition Grounds.  Just a week prior to this he had successfully used it at Covehead, P.E.I. 

Raced before a mammoth crowd announced as 12,000 strong, the huge throng jammed the grandstand and overflowed into the oval of the track.  While the earlier races drew much attention, the headline event was the real drawing card.  It was estimated that 100 horses were on the grounds for the big event and included entrants from several provinces and a couple of neighbouring states.  Observers were slightly surprised that there were not more entrants from Quebec.  The answer to this question was deemed to be that another big race on the same day was held at St. Jerome,  but with a much lower purse. 

In a post-race summary carried in the aforementioned Guardian newspaper the race was described as follows.  "Time Table, a smooth-pacing invader from the Province of Quebec, today walked off with top honours in the $5,000 Monctonian, feature event of the three day harness racing card at the raceway here." The track record of 2:06 1/4 set the previous year remained unchanged but all attendance records went by the boards. 

Time Table was challenged in the first heat by driver Joe O'Brien driving Tip Abbe owned by the Dudey Patch Club of New Glasgow, N.S. In this race the photo finish camera was required.   In the next two heats the Quebec horse was a fairly easy victor, winning without any real serious threats.  Winning overall second money was Jollity, owned by J. Moriarity of Halifax by virtue of finishing second in both the second and third heats. 

The winning driver was Jules Giguere, a native of Quebec City and a leading driver at the time.   He and his brother Georges, also an accomplished horseman,  both went on to long careers in the sport as noted track managers, race secretaries and highly respected individuals.  Both are members of the Horse Racing Hall of Fame.  The owner was Joseph Cauchon, a prominent figure in Quebec racing for many years  

Overall it was judged as a great three days of racing, climaxed by the exciting first edition of the Monctonian. Obviously buoyed by the huge crowd in attendance,  before the afternoon had ended another day of racing was already  being hastily prepared.  Several events  were in the works for the following day which was Saturday.  On that day which attracted a much smaller crowd (described in the press as "a fair-sized crowd") a total of 19 horses competed for the $1,000 in purses. 

The existing track record of 2:06 1/4 at the Moncton track belonged to a horse named Harry Direct set in 1946 the year the new track opened.  This very fast horse was owned by John D. Mehan of St. Stephen, N.B.  This time replaced the existing record set just one day earlier by Sunnymede, also owned by Mr. Mehan.   Harness racing in the Province of New Brunswick has a long and colourful past.  Today's account was just a small part of its long history.  

The Monctonian was held again the following year and soon became an annual feature on the New Brunswick racing calendar. In recent years I believe it was moved to Charlottetown.  I am sure someone in the reading audience will know much more about the history of this great event.  

Results of the Inaugural Monctonian Pace 

The finish of the third and final heat is shown as Time Table reaches the finish line as a winner.   

Monctonian Race winner Time Table is shown in the winner's circle at Moncton track with his caretaker,  owner Joseph Cauchon on the far right  and driver Jules Giguere.  (Photo courtesy of Patrick Eastwood)

Harley Harrison shown above was a long time horseman on the New Brunswick circuit.  He was one of the drivers who participated in the 1947 race described today.   Several of his sons were participants in later years including Paul,  Norm, Gene and Murray.  (Hoof Beats photo) 

Quote For The Week: "Before the crowbar was invented the crows had to drink at home." - Unknown 

Who Is It? 

The driver pictured above was a very popular campaigner throughout the Maritime circuit for many years.  Can you identify this gentleman? He was NOT part of the first Monctonian race. 

Who Else Is It?

This horse and driver were part of the Monctonian Race but not as a team.  In other words the horse had a different driver than the fellow shown but he did drive that day.  Can you identify either? A clue is that the horse had a name related to wartime terminology.  (Hoof Beats photo) 

Long Shot 

Can you name this horse and driver and where the picture was taken in 1980? Below are some C's * Good Luck: this is not an easy one, unless maybe you're from N.B.  

A - The horse's name starts with A 

B - The driver's last name starts with B 

C - The C's * refers to clues 

D - The name of the track's actual location starts with D