Saturday, February 16, 2013

Blog preview



Although I believe that the sport of harness racing is required to make a significant transformation to change the course of its future, a look back to its gloried past is also necessary to remind one of how great it was and can be.  

If you have been a faithful reader of this blog over the past couple of months, you have probably come to realize that I have an avid interest in the history of harness racing in New Brunswick, especially in Fredericton and Woodstock.

This year commemorates the 50th anniversary of Meadow Skipper’s historical 1:55.1 world record performance at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky. 

Earle Avery, the legendary New Brunswick horseman from Woodstock, was the trainer-driver of Meadow Skipper.    


Avery is a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the Living Hall of Fame of the Trotter in Goshen, NY and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.

Thanks to the generosity of the late horseman’s family, I have been granted access to the personal collections and archives of Earle Avery.  It is a treasure trove full of pictures, historical news clippings and memorabilia that was maintained by his devoted wife throughout his career.

Periodically, over the next few weeks and months, I will be sharing some of this collection through the blog and on Facebook.  I will also make available some newspaper stories on Avery and Meadow Skipper that you will enjoy reading and reflecting back upon. 

In addition, please visit Fredericton Raceway 125 on Facebook where I will also be posting some of Avery’s historical photos and memorabilia.  Just click on the link here and hit the LIKE button.

It’s a great way to remember New Brunswick people and horses from the glory days of harness racing.

EARLE AVERY with GUN RUNNER after winning the Scotland Trot at Yonkers Raceway in 1968.
 
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Mike Stevenson is not only one of Maritime harness racing’s most talented horsemen but is also one of its nicest and most well-liked.  So, it was no surprise that the interview with him, that was posted last week in this space was, by far and away, the most popular yet of all of the blog posts.   It was very well-received in Prince Edward Island and down through the New England states and Florida, where Mike has spent much of his career.  Since last week, there have been over 2,000 hits.

The local newspaper, The Daily Gleaner, plans to run the interview in a future edition and the Saint John newspaper, the Telegraph-Journal, might as well.

The Daily Gleaner has indicated that the four-part series on the history of Fredericton Raceway drew much positive feedback and have expressed an interest in publishing more about the storied past of harness racing in Fredericton and its personalities.

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Speaking of the storied past, some other blogs that you can expect to see over the next few weeks and months include the aforementioned Earle Avery and a look at his harness racing career with an emphasis on his successful relationship with Norman Woolworth and Clearview Farms.

With the 45th anniversary of Connell Park Raceway opening in Woodstock, we will look at the history of harness racing in New Brunswick’s first incorporated town. 

For example, did you know that the famous Island Park racetrack, that was located in the middle of the Saint John River between Woodstock and Grafton, was not the first harness racing track in Woodstock? 

ISLAND PARK

There were two other racetracks prior to that one opening in 1919.  Find out where they were and their history in a future blog.

As well, we will take a look at other historical racetracks in New Brunswick that no longer exist and their tracks records.

There will be stories on the late Bill Quigg and his contribution to harness racing in Fredericton as well as a look at the career of W. Bert Lint in the 1920’s, when harness racing in Fredericton and “community-owned” horses were at their peak in popularity. 

Lint, a local hotel operator, city promoter and very much an avid amateur harness racing driver, campaigned his own free-for-aller Roy Volo and set a world record with another, Chesley H Searcey, one of those “community-owned” horses.

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Another ardent supporter of New Brunswick’s harness racing history, Patrick Eastwood of Saint John, has agreed to be the guest writer for The Fredericton Scene blog next weekend and he will take a look at the career of one of New Brunswick’s greatest horses from the 1970’s, Power Baron.  Patrick’s keen insight and statistical collection has been a great asset to the blog and I am hopeful we can look forward to more written contributions in the future.

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For more blogs on New Brunswick harness racing go to thefrederictonscene.blogspot.ca

For more historical data, pictures and stories please LIKE Fredericton Raceway 125 on Facebook.
 

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