The Riverside Track Attracted 2,500 To Its Opening Card
When one mentions the "Cathedral Town" of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, many thoughts flash into your mind: home of the West River Stock Farm and its founder, the late and legendary Ed Haley, and his daughter Clare MacDonald and her numerous maritime track records, of West River Exotic, 155/2, of St.
Francis Xavier University (it had Cape Breton roots in Arichat in 1853), of The Coady Institute, the
Antigonish Movement, The Highland Games, Celtic culture, arts and sciences, of outstanding hockey and football teams and other sports, and finally of the Riverside Raceway.
Like most towns in Nova Scotia in the roaring '20s, Antigonish once boasted a racetrack. It is sometimes very difficult to establish the first "official date" of public racing for many of our old - time racetracks, especially some of the smaller ones. Such is not the case for Antigonish or The Riverside Track, as it used to be called.
It officially opened August 5, 1925, as 2,500 fans flocked to enjoy the races and be present at the historic occasion. According to an old yellow clipping in my files, it was a beautiful summer day that day long ago in August.
The track had been just recently completed and on opening day there were no stables or grandstand, but nobody seemed to mind.
The official opening was celebrated under the most auspicious of circumstances, with the Antigonish
Citizen's Band playing in between each heat.
The late James H. Power of New Glasgow did the honors that happy day. He officially opened the new track, cut the ribbon and gave a grand send-off to the happening. For his efforts, he was presented with a giant floral horseshoe by Mayor MacKinnon of the town on behalf of the Antigonish Trotting Association.
We should mention that James H. Fraser was at that time the veteran editor of "The Eastern Chronicle" and a leading standardbred authority (second only to Jimmy Power of the Halifax - based Acadian
Recorder) on Nova Scotia harness racing.
Charles Thompson of North Sydney was the starter, timers were Don Fraser of New Glasgow, Dr. D.
MacIsaac and D. A. MacDonald of Antigonish; Dan MacNeil of Sydney served as clerk of course with judges Moody Allen of Glace Bay, Cline MacDonald of Mulgrave and Jack Grant of New Glasgow.
Twenty - four horses from all over Nova Scotia had come to test the condition of the new racetrack. There were four classes run that day, the 2:30, 2:24 and 2:15all mixed (either pacing or trotting), and a named race, a half mile affair. All purses were for $300. Unfortunately, we do not know the correct order that they raced in as we cannot locate the official card. Assuming the slowest card raced first (which may not be correct), the track pacing records went like this:2:22 1/4, 2:22 1/4, 2:19 1/4, 2:19 1/4, 2:17 1/4 and finally a respectable 2:15 1/4. The winners in straight heats were Hector Todd, Gold Direct and Bud Hal in that order. The half - mile race went four heats with a horse named Harvey owned and driven by a Mr. John
MacDonald of Lochaber, Antigonish County.
We do know for sure that at the end of that first historic, dust - filled day, that Antigonish had a respectable pacing record of 2:15 1/4 set by Bud Hal, a horse owned at the time by Matthew (Matt)
MacAdam of Glace Bay. The horse was driven to his two track records by the late Charley Sweet, a rather famous Cape Breton - based driver of that era.
Another big day took place at Riverside Park on August 15, 1928. Alliewood The Great, a former Grand
Circuit, Bay State and Maine performer, now 16 years old, lowered his own trot record for Antigonish and the provincial records for trotters to a then - 2:13/4. This old battle - scarred gelding, with over 100 heats wins to his credit, was driven by the late John (Jack) MacMillan. This famous horse once held, in addition to several other records, the trot record for Sydney and Sherbrooke, N.S.

Alliewood's trotting record lasted but 12 days, when it was twice reduced by Bill Sharon at the Halifax
Exhibition.
Charley Sweet would set two more pacing records at this picturesque little oval in 1929. The horse he drove that year was a rather famous gray gelding called Paleface, 2:02 1/2, another refugee from the
Grand Circuit. That year, the year of the stock market crash, Paleface's record breaking miles were paced in 2:15 and 2:13 1/2.
The year 1930 saw probably the best year ever at Riverside Park. Fans were privileged to see such sensational horses as Lambert Todd, Captain Mac, Paleface, Silver Grattan, Peter Taggart and Ruby P just to mention a few. Some of the drivers to perform at Antigonish that year were Billy Hood, Allie Lewis,
Charley Sweet, Collie MacKenzie, Jack MacMillan, Fraser and Kennedy just to list but a few.
The Great Depression and the "dirty '30s" were in and Antigonish's Riverside Park slowly faded away. It was still used as a training track during this period as far as I know.
There was a short - lived revival of sorts after the end of World War 2. Two legendary horsemen of
Antigonish, the late Ed Hailey and the late Dr. Cecil MacLean, re - opened the old racetrack and a few very successful meets were held under their able leadership.
Antigonish fans saw their first miracle mile on the afternoon of September 11, 1946. On that day The
Great G, a nine - year - old brown stallion, flashed under the wire in a brilliant (for that time) 2:09 1/4.
Frank McAlduff drove him that afternoon for Cyril Dauphinee of Halifax and he raced under the colors of the Blue Acres Farm of New Glasgow.
Our good friend Cyril Reddy tells me that one can still see traces of the old park even after 50 years, as nature heals her scars sometimes rather slowly.
The Great G and driver Frank McAlduff, a native of Alberton, P.E.I. would both go on to better careers.
Frank would retire from racing around 1961 as a well - respected and successful trainer and driver. The
Great G would end up in High River, Alberta, and become a very successful sire.
Great Britton, 2:02/1
After the death of Captain Aubrey, the N.S.A.C. purchased the brown trotting standardbred stallion Great
Britton to stand in stud in his place.
Great Britton (sometimes spelled Great Britain) was foaled in 1917 and his breeder was the well - known horseman E. R. Little of Mount Sterling, Kentucky.
Great Britton was a trotting son of Peter Chenault, 2:04/3, out of the dam Fanforan, 2:11/1 by Tommy
Britton, 2:06/1. Peter Chenault was sired by Peter The Great, 2:07/1, the sire of Captain Aubrey.
Great Britton's racing career was short but spectacular. He raced mostly on the Grand Circuit in the U.S. from 1919 to 1924, and earned approximately $16,000 for his various owners. This was a lot of money in those days.
He trotted in about 88 heats and had 25 wins, six seconds and 11 thirds to his credit. His lifetime standard of 2:02/1 was earned in Columbus, Ohio, when he won the first heat of a four - heat race. The purse for this famous race was for $3,000.
Great Britton at one time held two world records. One of these world records was set as a four - year - old in 1921 in Columbus, Ohio (on a mile track) on July 28 - July 30. The Toddler won the first heat in 2:04/1,
Great Britton took the second in 2:04/1 and Eliza Dillon the third in 2:03/1. Great Britton rebounded to win the fourth heat and the race in 2:05.

The second world record was set in 1923 at the same mile oval. The future N.S.A.C. trotting sire won the fastest heat (the first) of a four - heat race in 2:02/1 for his lifetime record. The official times for the four - heat divided race were 2:02/1, 2:04/1, 2:03/1 and 2:03/3. The other trotters sharing in the record were
Czar Worthy and The Great Volo.
During the time from 1926 until he came to the campus of the N.S.A.C., he stood in stud and sired several outstanding trotters and pacers.
In the winter of 1931 the Nova Scotia government sent a commission of three well known horsemen "to seek out and purchase a worthy successor to Captain Aubrey".
These three men were the late Spurgeon Gammon of Pictou County, the late Frank Boutilier of Halifax and the late Dr. D. D. McIsaac of Cape Breton.
All these men were famous owners and drivers of standardbred horses. Dr. McIsaac was a veterinarian while Spurgeon Gammon was also a turf writer of some note, and Frank Boutilier was a highly successful trainer and driver of several maritime trotters and pacers that once held several maritime records.
Great Britton was purchased by the commission and he arrived in Bible Hill on April 25, 1931. The purchase price was $5,700 for this former world record holder. He stood in stud at Bible Hill and Kentville for the 1931 breeding season and "courted" 72 mares.
Your writer was fortunate to be given, some years ago, an old brown "stud schedule" or "breeding pamphlet" put out by the late Dr. John M. Truman, N.S.A.C. principle in 1931. Thanks to a former friend who is now retired for salvaging this rather dogeared bit of N.S.A.C. standardbred history.
The front cover, which included a picture of the former world record holder, reads as follows: "will stand for the season of 1931 at Truro and Kentville, N.S. For schedule, see page 5". "Fees $25 at time of service for Nova Scotia owners; $35 for all mares owned outside Nova Scotia. Freight on railroad must be paid by owners of mares. Mares will be met at the railroad station and given careful attention, and will be boarded for 50 cents a day".
It is interesting for 1995 readers to compare stud fees and board for stallions 64 years ago. It would be highly unlikely to breed to a world champion for $25 or to board a broodmare for 50 cents a day!
On January 16, 1932, Great Britton died due to "a stoppage in the bowel caused by a volvulus of the small intestine". His death was untimely, as no doubt he would have enriched the Maritimes with superior trotting blood.
The three - year - old stallion Calumet Central, on loan from the late Frank Adams of Halifax, finished out
Great Britton's breeding season and bred 13 mares.
In 1933, the policy of keeping standardbred stallions for service at the agricultural college came to an end. It had begun in 1907 under the capable leadership of the late Dr. Melville Cumming, N.S.A.C.'s first principal.
The rich standardbred bloodlines left by Achille, Marshal M, Captain Aubrey and Great Britton would continue, however, and greatly influence maritime breeding programs for years to come.
The official USTA Sires and Dams yearbooks of 1951 credits Great Britton with the following breeding credits: Sired 29 standardbred trotters (four in 2:05); 13 pacers (two in 2:05) sired the dams of 22 trotters
(three in 2:05) and 21 pacers (four in 2:05).
Some of the more famous sons and daughters sired by this stallion were as follows: Mamie Britton (t) brm, 2:02/1, Guy Britton 2:03 (double gaited), Hollyrood Roman (t) blkg 2:03, Hollyrood Jaqueline (p) rom

3, 2:03/3, Tronia Britton (t) 2:00/1 (m), Irene Britton (t) 4, 2:08 (h), Hollyrood Lexington, 2, 2:09/3, Belle
Britton, 4, 2:08/1 (m), Hollyrood Brown, b,g 2:08/1, Sir Britton, brg, 2:09, Hollyrood Grayson, gg, 2:09/1,
Hollyrood Liffeth, bm, 2:10 TT (m), Hal Britton, b,g, (t), 2:09/3 and Uscita Britton (p) 2:09, bm (h).
Halifax Exhibition Track
The old "Halifax Exhibition Track" at the corner of Windsor and Almon Streets was officially opened by Sir
Wilfred Laurier, then - Prime Minister of Canada, in 1897. This track had a long and honorable history.
The other nearby Halifax racetrack, called "The Halifax Polo and Riding Grounds" closed on Sept. 6 of that year. It was bounded by Quinpool Road, Oxford Street, Chebucto Road and Monastery Lane. In
1898 it was sold as building lots and passed into history as far as horseracing was concerned.
Good friend, Ken Starratt please note that "The Riding Grounds" was the track where Black Pilot, driven by W.H. O'Neill trotted in 2:30/1 on Sept. 20, 1888!
I have an old scorecard in my possession from the track dated 1892, and it is the oldest racing scorecard
I have.
Anyway, the Halifax Exhibition Racetrack had a rich and somewhat rollercoaster type of history until it closed on Sept. 2, 1939. By the turn of the century it grew at a spectacular rate. Excellent purses, international circus performers and acts, crowds in excess of 10,000, a collection of the best drivers in
Atlantic Canada and a seven - day race meet all combined to make this Halifax track "The Lexington of the Maritime Provinces".
It was so nicknamed by the late Jimmy Power of the Acadian Recorder.
Even strings of horses from Maine and Massachusetts made friendly invasions here. Pacers like Phebon
W and Gloria were welcomed with open arms, as they added to the great international and color. Free - for - alls were just that in the golden days of the early 1900's.
The Halifax Explosion on December 6, 1917 brought a temporary end to harness racing until 1922, when two meets were held. For about six years the grounds of the exhibition were used to house those unfortunate people whose homes had been destroyed in that terrible explosion.
One of the key individuals who helped to bring back live harness racing to Halifax was the late Frank
Adams, the same horseman and businessman who once owned the maritime champion stallion Watchim.
A new Exhibition Park was constructed in 1927 and early 1928. The cost was $400,000 and the new race grandstand had a seating capacity of more than 6,000.
One of the "great rarities" that took place here occurred on the afternoon of August 31, 1934, in the 2:15 trot.
The horses in the event were Hollyrood Lee, Bonnie Cameron, Frank J Ortolan, Lusty Frisco, Helen D and Miss MacTyre. Bonnie Cameron, a bay trotting gelding by Cameron, captured the first heat in 2:12 and Hollyrood Lee, a black gelding sired by the N.S.A.C.'s ill - fated Great Britton, captured the next heat in 2:14.
Out the horses came for that third heat. Three trotters - Hollyrood Lee, Frank J Ortolan and Bonnie
Cameron - engaged in a terrific battle, each driver refusing to yield an inch. They tore down the home - stretch like a Russian Troika and all hit the wire together.
After a long hot debate, there was a moment of silence and out came the official announcement: "Triple dead heat in the third heat of the 2:15 trot - time of 2:12/1".

There naturally was no fancy photo - finish at that time, so the poor judges could rely on just the naked eye.
Only two trotters came out for the fourth heat, as Helen D, Lusty Frisco and Frank J Ortolan were ruled out.
Hollyrood Lee emerged the winner of the heat and the race over Bonnie Cameron in 2:16/1. His driver that day was the legendary Saint Stephen, N.B. based W. H. "Billy" Keys.
I see in the last issue of the Atlantic Post Calls that Jim Hawley has retired. Yes, it is true - I have voluntarily put myself "out to pasture".
I am however, a native of Mabou, not Port Hood, as you stated in your article Mr. Editor. My paternal roots of Smith and Hawley are family rooted in Port Hood, however.
After a relationship with the N.S.D.A.M. and the N.S.A.C. that dates back to 1954, I have decided to move on to another career.
First as a student, second as a pedologist, thirdly as a chemist, then a provincial laboratory supervisor, and finally as a professor, I loved it all.
Teaching degree, technician, technology or vocational students from many parts of the world has kept me young at heart. I never worked with a better group of people than those connected in any way with the agriculture industry.
And now may I humbly wish all horsepeople in Atlantic Canada and Maine, and indeed horsepeople everywhere, good luck and best wishes in these difficult days.
A very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and hopefully a happy 1996.