It had been said that
‘The Ghost of Walter Dale’ haunted the Fredericton racetrack for years after
the legendary horse set a Canadian record of 2:02 ½ back on September 15, 1937.
Walter Dale came to Fredericton Raceway
during an era in the 1920’s and 1930’s when harness racing was thriving and
driving clubs in Atlantic Canada and Maine boasted of community-owned
horses. Many of these cities spent
significant amounts of money to import pacing stars to take a run at track records
or rival community horses.
Two businessmen from Maine, John
Sullivan, a millionaire lumber czar and friend Fred Mawhinney, an automobile
dealer from Machias, Maine, purchased such a star in nine-year-old Walter Dale,
who had taken a record of 2:00 ¾ against world-class pacers in Lexington, Kentucky
the previous year. Sullivan and
Mawhinney decided to bring their stable of horses, trained by Henry Clukey, to
New Brunswick.
Trainer-driver Clukey, referred to as
“the old fox of the Maine-New Brunswick racing circuit” by some, enjoyed coming
with his powerful stable to the Maritimes to compete against its best every
year.
Walter Dale, who was the brightest star
in the stable, would only race at two tracks during his appearance winning all
nine heats that he contested. His first
stop was at St. Stephen on September 2 and he clocked miles in 2:09 ½, 2:06 ¼
and 2:05. The 2:05 standard was never
broken.
After a quick trip to Presque Isle,
Maine - where he won consecutive heats - Walter Dale’s next stop was in
Fredericton to contest a free-for-all race against Signal Senator, Peter Magnus
and Cape Breton star, Marjorie M during the 1937 Fredericton Exhibition. It was reported the purse was $350 with $200
for the driver that could beat the track record of 2:04 ¾.
An enormous crowd made up mostly of Maritime
and Maine race fans watched Walter Dale win an easy first heat in 2:07 ½. It was reported that the crowd was largely
quiet, politely applauding the performance, but disappointed by the time of the
mile.
However, the outgoing Clukey believed
in his horse and after some ribbing over the time of the race from fellow
horsemen, was heard to say: “I think
this (second) heat I will give Fredericton a record that will last for a long
time – a very long time.”
And that is what they did. Through fractions of :30 ½ - 1:01 ½ - 1:31 ½
new Canadian champion Walter Dale pulled away and literally distanced the field
to the crowds amazement.
Historian Ed Kelley wrote,
“What a treat this pair provided the packed
grandstand and the thousands lined several deep all around the half-mile oval. In a day when fast miles were too often
suppressed, at the end of the second heat the timers hung out 2:02 ½ and wild pandemonium, such as had never been
witnessed at any Canadian harness track, broke loose.”
In the third heat he won in 2:06 ¼.
Of course the 2:02 ½ mile was not only
a track record but a Canadian record as well that stood for more than two years
until Billy Direct lowered it by a half-second to 2:02 in an exhibition mile in
Stratford, ON in 1939. The race record
stood until 1955.
Walter Dale would rest only two days
before contesting a $400 free-for-all event in Fredericton that included Tracey
Hanover, a 2:03 pacer driven by Woodstock’s Earle Avery. Walter Dale won all three heats in 2:05 ¼,
2:06 and 2:07.
He would only have one more start that
year in Cumberland, Maine before disappearing from the racing scene for an
extended period of time. He resurfaced
in 1940 and raced a few more years to the age of eighteen but never recaptured
his old form.
Walter Dale’s lifetime record: 230
starts – 113 wins – 46 seconds – 27 thirds.
Walter Dale’s brilliant performance
that September afternoon brought such distinction to the Fredericton Exhibition
that in ensuing years the Exhibition Association made the ‘Walter Dale
Memorial’ the big event of the annual Exhibition.
And each year it would be asked, “Will they beat Walter’s 2:02 ½ mile this
year?”
Or would “The Ghost of Walter Dale” hover
over the racetrack.
For over 42 years top horses from all
over came to Fredericton to take a run at the track record but each timed
failed in their attempts and one had to wonder if perhaps the legendary horse
would ever give up his hold on the record.
But in 1979 a pretty roan horse named
Daily Special finally lifted the curse and paced the oval in 2:02.1 for owner
David Kileel and driver Mike Downey. Only one week earlier this same combination
had just fallen short in their effort when they missed Walter Dale’s record by
only 1/10 of second and some thought ‘The Ghost of Walter Dale’ had struck
again.
Though it no longer holds the Walter
Dale Memorial during the annual Exhibition, Fredericton Raceway has been staging
the race for over 55 years – dating back to 1956.
It seemed that local horses themselves
were chasing “The Ghost of Walter Dale” as no locally owned horse could win the
Walter Dale Memorial for the first 35 years until Big Bucks Bomber turned the
trick in 1990 for owner Sandra Foley and driver Marcel Barrieau.
Since then five other Fredericton owned
horses – King Tyler, Shannon Commander, Woodmere Topcat, Look Maynard and All
Star Dragon – have won the longest running free-for-all event in the Maritimes.
Finally “The Ghost of Walter Dale” had
been chased away.
* *
* * *
PAST WINNERS OF THE WALTER DALE MEMORIAL
1956 JERRY’S
NIGHTMARE – Clayton McLeod 1 – 1 2:06 – 2:09
1957 CONVAIR – George
Mauger 1 – 1 2:07 – 2:07.1
1958 MAJOR’S KING –
A. James Lang 1 – 2 2:09 – 2:08
1959 HAL’S MAN –
Clayton Killam 1 – 4 2:06 – 2:06.2
1960 BOB LEE BOY –
George Mauger 1 – 1 2:09.1
– 2:09
1961 DEE’S BOY –
James MacGregor 2 – 1 2:09 – 2:07.2
1962 BOB BROOK - Greg
MacDonald 1 – 1 2:04 – 2:03.3
1963 BOB BROOK - Walter
Craig 1 – 1 2:06 –
2:05
1964 SOBERITY – Bert
Bramble 3 – 1 2:06 – 2:06.3
1965 ANDY’S SON –
Jimmy Moore 1 – 1 2:06.3
– 2:06.3
1966 BORDERVIEW ROY –
Dave Coadic 1 – 2 2:06 –
2:06.2
1967 MIDNIGHT BOLD –
Don MacNeill 1 – 1 2:06.1 – 2:05.1
1968 BORDERVIEW BOB
LEE – Jimmy Moore 1 – 3 2:06
– 2:07.3
1969 F T J – Herman
Renaud 2 – 1 2:04.4
– 2:05
1970 FIREBOLT –
Willard Carr 1 – 1 2:04.2 – 2:04.3
1971 FIREBOLT –
Harvey Cormier 1 – 1 2:04.4 – 2:05.1
1972 PETE FOREVER -
Joe Goguen 1 – 2 2:06.2 – 2:05.3
1973 ANALIZOR - Joe Goguen - 2:05.2
1974 NEE BOOTS – Jody
Hennessey - 2:04.1
1975 ANALIZOR – Joe
Goguen - 2:03
1976 BARON’S
SENSATION – Wayne Whebby - 2:02.4
1977 WIDOWS JUD –
Wayne Sprague - 2:03.3
1978 SARTORIS – Joe
Goguen - 2:04
1979 SCOTCH GAUMAN –
Bill Nicholson Sr. - 2:03.1
1980 METEOR HANOVER –
Marcel Barrieau - 2:05
1981 PENNANT PLAY –
Wally Hennessey - 2:00.4
1982 SAULS PRIDE –
Joey Smallwood - 2:02.1
1983 COLUMBO SEELSTER
– Willard Carr - 2:00
1984 GEMINI RISK –
Wally Hennessey - 2:01.2
1985 GEMINI RISK –
Steve Mahar - 2:00.2
1986 BURNERS DELIGHT
– Wally Hennessey - 1:59.3
1987 SUTHEN GUVNA – Paul
MacDonald - 1:58.1
1988 COURTNEY BAY –
Steve Mahar - 1:59.1
1989 HAWK KILLEAN –
Earl Smith - 1:59.3
1990 BIG BUCKS BOMBER
– Marcel Barrieau - 1:59
1991 BIG GENE – Dave
Pinkney - 1:58.3
1992 KING TYLER –
Steve Mahar - 2:02
1993 SHANNON
COMMANDER – Garry MacDonald - 1:55
1994 CHATHAM LIGHT –
Gordon Hennessey - 1:57.1
1995 HAPPY FAMILY –
Danny Romo - 1:57.1
1996 COMEDY HOUR –
Gilles Barrieau - 1:58
1997 COMEDY HOUR –
Gilles Barrieau - 1:56
1998 WOODMERE TOPCAT –
Todd Trites - 1:57.2
1999 EURIPIDES –
Garry MacDonald - 1:57.2
2000 LOOK MAYNARD –
Gilles Barrieau - 1:57.3
2001 MCGETTY – Dr.
Ian Moore - 1:56.4
2002 FAMILIAR FACE –
Steve Mahar - 1:59.2
2003 BLACK BOWTIE –
Steve Mahar - 1:57.1
2005 P H BREAKAWAY –
Todd Trites - 1:55.1
2006 DRINKING GAMES –
Todd Trites - 1:57.3
2007 DUNACHTON GALE –
Phil Pinkney - 1:55.3
2008 ASTRONOMICAL –
Dr. Ian Moore - 1:55.2
2009 ALL STAR DRAGON
– Gilles Barrieau - 1:57
2010 PH BESTMAN –
Todd Trites - 1:55.3
2011 SERIOUS DAMAGE –
Ken Arsenault - 1:55.1
2012 MCAPULCO –
Brodie MacPhee - 1:54.2
* * * * *
As Fredericton Raceway celebrates
125 years, this is the third in a four-part series reflecting on the track and
its rich history. I would like to
acknowledge the contributions of Patrick Eastwood, Scott Green and Fredericton
Raceway hobby historian Doug McCarty.
Next week:
For 42 years many horses had chased
“The Ghost of Walter Dale.”
But it was another ghost, “The Grey
Ghost,” who finally put Walter Dale to rest.
Brent Briggs was the General Manager of Fredericton
Raceway from 2003 to 2008 and also a long-time Race-Secretary in New
Brunswick. He has also been a long-time race
horse owner and trained Spudland Sierra p.6,1:52.1s, one of the fastest New
Brunswick-bred mares.
For more historical data, pictures and stories please LIKE
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