Having split North America into two distinct countries – United States and Canada – the review of Canadian racetracks will be undertaken first on a province by province basis.
British Columbia (BC) have five live horse racing tracks at present, only one of which caters for standardbreds – Fraser Downs. Vernon was the hub of harness racing from the 1890’s into early 1900’s in BC.
Overview
Fraser Downs a 5/8’s mile harness racing track and casino located on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey, British Columbia. The track is located just east of 176th Street (Pacific Highway) on 60th Avenue, in Surrey, BC. Owned by Great Canadian Gaming Corporation which is the largest casino operator in British Columbia.
Surrey is a city in the province of BC, located south of the Fraser River and north of the Canada/United States border, a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surrey is the provinces second-largest by population after Vancouver and the third-largest by area after Abbotsford and Prince George. There are seven neighbourhoods in Surrey which are designated town centres including Cloverdale.
The Cloverdale Fairgrounds (also known as the Cloverdale Exhibition Grounds) has been the site of Canada‘s second largest rodeo since 1938 NB : Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair. The only racing during the rodeo in early days was chuck wagon racing held during the long weekend in May each year. There were infield and outside bleachers with a roof cover acting as viewing areas with the curling rink attached to the Greenaway Park (east side).
Among the Fairgrounds other activities is being a home to the Elements racetrack and casino which are leased separately to Great Canadian Gaming Corporation.
Opening as Cloverdale Raceway in 1976, renovated in 1996 and renamed Fraser Downs, the facility became known as a racino in 2003 by incorporating Elements casino. Hosting harness racing nine months of the year from September to May together with simulcast racing all year *** refer to possible future proposals below.
Sandown Raceway and Cloverdale/Fraser Downs History
During the 1950’s Hall of Fame trainer and driver Keith Waples and Doug Gillespie, Jim H. Keeling Sr formed a parent company Orangeville Raceway, northwest of Toronto and four years later opened Sandown Raceway, just outside of Victoria, BC. The Sandown Raceway built in the mid 1950’s featured horse racing in North Sannich until 2008 when there were three days of harness racing. As many as ninety days of harness and thoroughbred racing were held annually during the 1980’s but this had reduced to around a dozen meetings by 2001.
Sandown Raceway
Opening originally as Cloverdale Raceway, much credit for this development can be handed to Jim H. Keeling Sr., a natural sportsman, with his roots in ice hockey. In 1969, he gave his assistance to the Fraser Valley Fair Board in establishing a harness meet at Cloverdale. In the early 1970’s during Cloverdale’s late September fall fair, the first standardbreds with racing sulkies and drivers were seen at Cloverdale Raceway.
With Cloverdale Raceway opening in 1976, this gave British Columbia two harness racing venues on Canada’s west coast for many years, both becoming major spectator attractions.
Cloverdale Raceway
On opening in 1976, Cloverdale Raceway included betting windows for wagering. The grandstand underwent renovations once harness racing commenced at Cloverdale Raceway. With a $2 admission charge to the grandstand for patrons, half the grandstand was completely enclosed to allow patrons to view horse racing in warmth especially over harness racing’s winter months. The other half of the stand was left exposed to the weather but with a covered roof and was known as the smoking section. The curling rink attached to the original grandstand was relocated to a new building built closer to 176th Street on the west side of the fairgrounds (its current location) making way for renovations to the racetrack. Stables were built at the north end of the fairgrounds and the racetrack was upgraded to a limestone track.
Harness racing fed off spring and summer thoroughbred racing at Hastings Park with a season that initially ran from mid-October until mid-April. In the initial few years racing was conducted on five days or nights each week : Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On course betting was the only form of gambling available with racing being a major entertainment option.
Cloverdale Raceway also charged patrons a parking fee to park in the fairgrounds although in the 1970’s and 1980’s cars lined up all the way down 176th Street from Cloverdale to well past the Fraser Highway on race nights. Races ended just after 10pm with a steady flow of bumper to bumper traffic leaving Cloverdale.
By the nineteen nineties patronage was reducing with other forms of entertainment incorporating slot machines and gaming tables opening. Cloverdale Raceway stopped charging for parking in the fairgrounds and admission into the grandstand in an attempt to boost attendances. The grandstand underwent further renovation with The Clubhouse becoming a well-known dining experience with an outstanding buffet.
Racing was down to three nights a week – Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday – between October and April. Afternoon racing was held if a statutory holiday fell on a weekday together with additional nights racing in September and occasionally late April or early May. Summer harness racing took place at Sandown Raceway which was located close to the ferry terminal at Sidney on Vancouver Island, about a half hours drive from the capital of Victoria.
Harness racing’s founding father Jim Keeling Sr. handed over the business to his son Jim Jr, in the early 1990’s. Jim Jr. died suddenly in 1996 with his son Chuck placed in charge.
Fraser Downs
Further renovations were undertaken in 1996 with Cloverdale Raceway being renamed Fraser Downs. Racing now took place on anywhere between two nights to four nights a week. The low purses meant the track experienced difficulties retaining quality horses, trainers and drivers. Track management attempted to obtain interest in installing slot machines in the grandstand in the belief that this would revive the tracks fortunes. This mostly fell on deaf ears as more participants headed east and those remaining hoped for better times.
New Year’s Eve 1999 saw a “bring in the millennium event” at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds for the whole family with tents and exhibits set up around the fairgrounds and harness racing advertised as the last horse races anywhere in the world for the twentieth century. Whilst attendance was projected at 50,000 only 5,000 tickets sold.
Fraser Downs was in a similar position. Attendances were down with less betting meaning lower stakes available for owners and trainers. Many stables headed into Alberta during the summer months where there was a chance to make money but most returned to Cloverdale where good stables with suitable horses did alright. Installing slot machines in the grandstand turning it into a casino was wanted by everyone connected to the track but resisted by many locals and elected officials of the City of Surrey.
The project to install slot machine started in 1996 finally became a reality in 2003 when the province abandoned its objections and Fraser Downs began the process to obtain approval to operate them.
In December 2003, Surrey City Council held a meeting at city hall where approval was finally granted allowing Fraser Downs to install slot machines and a casino operation. Some temporary slots were installed almost immediately. Construction began later in December 2003 including another renovation of the grandstand turning it into a “racino”with the permanent casino opening in November 2004 hosting over four hundred slot machines. The grand opening of the completely remodelled “racino” facility was held in October 2005.
Keeling had a vision, “The slot machines will win for us an opportunity to arrest our sport’s decline, attract many new people and substantially improve purses. All of us who love horse racing – operators, staff, fans and horse people – should be judged in the future by what we are now able to achieve.” Keeling has already proven that Fraser Downs will be judged for its visionary thinking and spirit, not unlike its founder was almost 40 years ago.
Jim Keeling Sr. remembered as a pioneer of harness racing in BC was inducted into the Canadian Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2001 and BC Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2007. Without his courage and vision, harness racing would likely have ceased to exist in BC rather than continue onwards at Fraser Downs forty five years after its inception.
Fraser Downs racetrack and casino offers :
- Live racing September to May including necessary facilities for wagering, dining etc
- Year round 365 day casino open 9an to 4am weekdays and 24 hours at weekends; nonstop horse racing (simulcast coverage) and gambling entertainment – four hundred and sixty gaming machines including Touch Bet Roulette and electronic blackjack
- Six dining options including
- Clubhouse Buffet Restaurant located at the finish line; open during live racing events only; offering premium track-side dining – variety of selections including seafood & salad bars, innovative dishes, carving station and decadent desserts
- Homestretch casual dining and racing venue offering floor to ceiling windows with both trackside and terraced table viewing for patrons
- Longshots Show Lounge often featuring live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays with coffee, tea and soft drinks available for all players
Future Proposals –
Mid 2021 (June/July) news broke of a proposal for the possible amalgamation of Fraser Downs (harness) and Hastings (thoroughbred) race tracks into a new one mile track facility northeast of Langley township, halfway between Abbotsford and Vancouver on a 32 acre property currently home to Sunny Riding Stables.
No detailed proposal had been established with early concepts outlining the potential for a one-mile, all-weather racetrack and training centre, a teletheatre (racebook), and casino. It could be pursued as an economic development project in partnership with the Kwantlen First Nation.
Fraser Downs stopped racing ahead of schedule on 17 April 2021 when Harness Racing BC (HRBC) ran out of funds. Lengthy casino closures due to COVID-19 precautions have hit racing hard where 25% of net slot machine profits at Fraser and Hastings are allocated to supporting live racing in British Columbia. In August 2021 the British Columbia Government announced financial assistance for the states harness racing industry of $3m to minimize the employment impacts of COVID 19 on horse racing workers. Racing for 2021 resumed on 22 September through until year end.
The 2022 season at Fraser Downs commenced on 2 January running until 9 May (racing Sundays and Mondays) and is due to resume in early September until the end of December.
Next Article : Canada – Alberta
Peter Craig
27 April 2022
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
