Sunday, March 24, 2013

Fredericton Horsemens Association Award Winners



The Fredericton Horsemen’s Association held their annual awards banquet and Wall of Fame induction ceremonies on Saturday night at the Fredericton Inn.
The following are the winners.

Horse of the Year
Ideal Ticket
Owner:  David Silliphant & Daniel Crouse
Trainer:  Brian Embleton
36-8-3-4-$8,274-1:57.4

Aged Horse
Joseph Michael
Owner:  Capital A Investments & Valerie Phalen
Trainer:  Eric Wilson
24-8-5-2-$15,496-1:57.2

Aged Mare
Edgewater Shadofax
Owner:  Linda Hughes & William Smythe
Trainer:  Mark Collett
26-7-6-4-$9,861-1:57.1
Winner $3,000 Claiming Series for Mares at Charlottetown

4-Year-Old
Woodmere Sandman
Owner:  Susan & William Seymour and Beverley Trites
Trainer:  Sheldon Watts
11-3-5-1-$4,189-1:59

3-Year-Old Colt
Same Old Story
Owner:  Robert Kitchen & Stefan Decourcey
Trainer:  Stefan Decourc ey
18-2-3-0-$3,199-2:02.1

3-Year-Old Filly
Seawind Amanda
Owner:  Weldon Briggs
Trainer:  Sandra Foley
23-3-4-2-$6,542-2:00.1

2-Year-Old Colt
Wheredidchago
Owner:  Dr. Mitchell Downey
Trainer:  Mike Downey
6-1-0-0-$2,699-2:02.3
Winner Atlantic Sires Stakes “B” at Charlottetown

2-Year-Old Filly
Rose Valley
Owner:  Dawn & Theodore Bremner
Trainer:  Mike Campbell
5-3-0-0-$4,075-2:01.3
Winner Lady Slipper Grassroots at Summerside

Most Improved
Camco Paul
Owner:  Malloy Boys Stable
Trainer:  John Malloy
7-3-1-0-$1,806-2:00.2

Unsung Hero - Blue Demon

Owner of the Year - Mark Taylor

Trainer of the Year – Mike Downey

Driver of the Year – Gilles Barrieau
 
Pioneer Award - Don Bishop

Appreciation Award - Liz Clark, Ron Fowlie


FREDERICTON RACEWAY WALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

William Thornton
All Star Dragon
Tidy Point

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Kingswood reaction



The following story, written by Michael Staples, appears in this morning’s (March 20) edition of the Daily Gleaner.  It is in response to the story I wrote about Brian Johnson of Kingswood and his vision of a new Fredericton Exhibition Grounds and Raceway that appeared in the Daily Gleaner on March 15.

*     *     *     *     *

The executive director of the Fredericton Exhibition and the Capital Exhibit Centre is taking exception to comments in a story on harness racing printed last week in The Daily Gleaner.
Mike Vokey said a reference in a story written by Brent Briggs, quoting Brian Johnson, the general manager of Kingswood, is inaccurate.

In the article, Johnson talked about his great-grandfather’s passion for harness racing and his exposure to the racetrack in his younger years. Johnson said he’s been thinking about the state of Fredericton Raceway and the exhibition grounds over the past few years.

“On my own, I hired a consultant that I deal with in Halifax to look at the Fredericton Raceway and the exhibition grounds and model it after the new Summerside Raceway,” Johnson said in the article. “I have had some discussions with (FREX executive director) Mike Vokey and some of the board members on a new vision for Fredericton Raceway.”

Vokey said that’s not the case.

“We were never consulted,” he said. “We may have spoken casually with some of the members on the board, but the board has never been in consultation regarding this project. Nobody has contacted us to ask about our needs. There’s no fact to anything there.”

In fact, Vokey said, it goes against everything the FREX is trying to do in fixing up its own facility.
“We have a major project underway now to change the coliseum into a multi-purpose fieldhouse and we’re looking at increasing our users by 12,000 people in the city who participate in organizations that would be able to use it under its new structure,” Vokey said. “We’re moving ahead with reality and out comes this fictional story, which is portrayed in The Gleaner as if it’s news story, and there isn’t any merit to it.”

Such information hinders efforts by the FREX to make something happen at the location, he said.
Vokey added harness racing is basically in the same situation. They were never contacted, and their needs were never discussed.

Johnson said it’s all a misunderstanding, conceding that Vokey was never part of the planning.

“When you read that, it kind of looks like he was part of the planning, but he wasn’t,” Johnson said.
“That plan was done a year before he ever came to Fredericton. I have been working on it for a long time. I just showed it to him one day when he happened to be in the office.”

The same is true with regard to the horse racing association, Johnson said.

“The raceway was never part of the planning; he was never part of the planning. It was more of a story about my grandfather, what was going on with Kingswood and my vision of what I think the raceway could become.”

Horse Racing New Brunswick president Mitch Downey said the partnership his association has with FREX works well.

“This type of article made it sound like it’s been run through both organizations — certainly the FREX,” Downey said. “It kind of undermines what we’re trying to doThat, I guess, is where our biggest concern was.”

Downey said it’s in both the FREX’s and Horse Racing New Brunswick’s best interest that they continue their partnership.

“I am enthusiastic about someone who has that much interest in and obviously passion and willingness to invest in a model that has our industry involved in it,” Downey said.

“But it would be nice to have certainly been consulted and have some even informal discussions about it before it came out in print, so to speak.”

*     *     *     *     *

Response to the original story has been overwhelmingly positive and there have been over 3,000 visitors to the blog in just a few days.  

However, Mike Vokey of FREX and Mitchell Downey of HRNB have taken exception to the story and have made it clear that they have no interest in this concept at this time.
 
Downey also stated in an email that the story could potentially undermine his current discussions with government relating to its potential partnership with Woodstock First Nation. 

That certainly was no one’s intention.

The FREX had announced a few weeks ago that it was encouraging public consultation on its facilities and has scheduled an informal town hall style meeting for tomorrow, Thursday, March 21.  From that perspective, the original story offers an exciting new dynamic to the conversation.

I do have to take exception to Downey’s statement about not having been consulted about this proposal as I contacted him at least two weeks prior to the story running.   

I wanted to share information on this new proposal with him as I thought it could strengthen his negotiations with government with the potential of a private partner and for a new racetrack in Fredericton with new facilities.

However, Downey was not interested in the information as he was confident that his current negotiations would be successful.

As it has been six months since the Memorandum of Understanding with Woodstock First Nation was announced - with no successful conclusion as of yet - let’s hope he is right.

 *     *     *     *     *



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

For more historical data, pictures and stories please LIKE Fredericton Raceway 125 on Facebook. 
https://www.facebook.com/FrederictonRaceway125

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Bert Lint



For nearly the first half of the 20th century, the Maritimes were the hotbed of harness racing in Canada, especially in New Brunswick.  There were almost 20 racetracks operating in as many communities scattered throughout the province at various times.  

For the longest time Fredericton Raceway was considered the fastest piece of dirt in the Dominion with its many Maritime, Canadian and World records being recorded during this period.

It set the stage for community entrepreneurs to become involved in the sport as there was a prestige attached to owning a horse during those times.

One such entrepreneur in Fredericton was Bert Lint. 

Lint was born in February 1875 at Bear Island, NB, which is also home to the Gerald Goodine family, who themselves have had a long association with harness racing.

He moved to Fredericton and became one of its leading citizens but he was also an accomplished horsemen.  

Lint held his own against the finest horses and drivers to grace Fredericton and, indeed across the New Brunswick and into Maine.    Though still an amateur trainer-driver, Lint held various track and Maritimes records and at one time held a world record with Chesley H Searcey.  He also employed legendary Canadian Racing Hall of Famers Billy Hood and Johnny Conroy.

Lint once held the track record for aged stallions at Fredericton and St. Stephen with A Game of Chance, both records taken in 1916.  Lint later sold A Game of Chance to Grand Circuit interests and he took a record of 2:03 ¼.


*          *          *          *          *

The chestnut pacer, Roy Volo, first surfaced for Lint in 1915 as a four-year-old.  In only his second start he quickly created a reputation for tremendous resiliency when he raced in a seven-heat affair at Houlton, Maine.  He won two of the heats, the fastest being in 2:21 ½. 

However, it was the next year when he really came into his own and became “the horse to beat” in races he was entered.  Racing at various tracks in New Brunswick and Maine, Roy Volo won 21 of 36 heats.  After a year off in 1917 for reasons unknown (perhaps because of the War when many race tracks were closed), Roy Volo returned to a more competitive racing scene and only won six of 28 heats, though one was at St. Stephen where he set a new track and personal record of 2:13 ¼.

In 1919, when the First World War ended, racing returned to New Brunswick very strongly.  Among the new tracks that opened were Island Park in Woodstock, Bathurst, Campbellton and Sussex.  Harness racing was stronger than ever and Roy Volo was starting to assert himself as a prospect to race the best in the Maritimes and Maine.

Now eight-years-old, Roy Volo and the popular Lint had their best year yet.  In 48 heats he had an amazing summary of 21-9-14 and firmly established himself as the iron-horse of the time.   Among his accomplishments was a Maritime record for the fastest five-heats, which took place at Chatham.  A win in 2:13 ¼ in one of the heats was also an overall track record.

He continued this pace over the next two years, finally graduating to the free-for-all circuit.  He raced and defeated Canadian champion, The Exposer, on many occasions as well as many other famous horse invaders.  Among his many accomplishments was becoming the fastest horse owned in the Maritimes.  He claimed that distinction when he won on his home turf of Fredericton in 2:08 ¼ in July 1921.  It was one of four-heat wins that day (the others were 2:10-2:09 ¼-2:11 ¼) in a $1,000 Invitational and the 2:08 ¼ mile was a new track record for Fredericton as well as a Provincial and Maritime record. 


All told Roy Volo had a summary of 39-22-14-1 that year as a 10-year-old.

In 1923, Roy Volo’s career was winding down and Bert Lint sold him that fall.  Roy Volo resurfaced in Nova Scotia a couple of years later but never recaptured his old form though he did race five more years until the age of 18.  He retired to stud with a career record of 348-129-80-65.

Bert Lint and Roy Volo were inducted to the Fredericton Raceway Hall of Fame in 2006.

Bert Lint would replace Roy Volo with a new sensation, Chesley H Searcey, the next year in 1924.

*     *     *     *     *

When I wrote the first series of blogs on the history of Fredericton Raceway, I made mention of the 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.  During that time driving clubs flourished and these “community-owned” horses were a civic boast.   

On July 19, 1923, four “community-owned” horses, John R. Braden, 2:02 ¾, (Presque Isle, Maine), Roy Grattan, 2:01 ¾, (Caribou, Maine), Dan Hedgewood, 2:04 ½, (Woodstock), driven by Earle Avery, and Jackson Gratton, 2:01 ¼, (Houlton, Maine) met in the $1,000 Barker House free-for-all in Fredericton.  John R. Braden was a straight winner in 2:05 3/4, 2:06 1/4 and 2:06 1/2, establishing a Canadian three-heat record for half mile tracks.

John R Braden and his driver John Willard had been king of the New Brunswick-Maine circuit since bring bought by the Mooseleuk Driving Club in 1921.

JOHN R BRADEN with John Willard

Roy Grattan ($8,500), Dan Hedgewood ($5,000) and Jackson Grattan ($12,500) had all been purchased by their respective communities to take part in “…one of the greatest international rivalries ever…”


And now in 1924, as horse racing in Fredericton reached an all-time high in popularity, the Fredericton Driving and Sporting Club decided to buy a horse of its own. 

With money raised by popular subscription, a group headed by City Hotel operator Bert Lint purchased four-year-old Chesley H. Searcey, p.3, 2:05 ¼m, from Ohio for a reported $10,000.   Lint has been looking for a “suitable” replacement for his former aging free-for-aller, Roy Volo.

It was said that, He was the horse that was bought to beat the legendary horse, John R Braden, and would bring glory to Fredericton!

*     *    *    *    *

Chesley H Searcey was lightly raced before he came to Fredericton.  He had only 21 lifetime heats and completed a very respectable summary of 7-11-1.  He took a sophomore record of 2:05 ¼m at Toledo, Ohio on July 13, 1923 which made him the fastest three-year-old colt in North America.

After being purchased by Lint, who had been the agent on behalf of the community syndicate, Chelsey H Searcey was brought to Fredericton where he was immediately scrutinized by the local faithful.  


Many believed he would not beat John R Braden but even his driver, John Willard, saw the potential in the young horse.  The critics were soon silenced when, in his first race under new management of Lint and the Fredericton Driving and Sporting Club, he equaled the world record for four-year-olds on a half-mile track in Houlton, Maine in a $1,000 Free-For-All.

It was said that “the grandstand was taxed to capacity” with race fans from both sides of the border to watch the latest Grand Circuit refugee perform.

In the three-horse race were Dan Hedgewood, driven by PEI native Fred Cameron, Jackson Grattan, driven by well-known U.S. driver, Ralph Burrill, and Fredericton’s Chesley H Searcey and Bert Lint.

It was said that it was an emotional Lint that paraded back Chesley H Searcey after winning a very close and hard-fought first heat in 2:07 ½. 

In the second heat , the other drivers went at Lint and Chesley H Searcey  even harder and when it was all said and done,  the Fredericton duo, again, rose to the challenge resulting in a new world record mark of 2:06 ¼ for four-year-old stallions on a half-mile track.

He finally tasted defeat in the third and final heat when Dan Hedgewood won in 2:08 ¼ but Chesley H Searcey had already proven himself to be a worthy adversary in the Free-For-All ranks.

Chesley H Searcey went on to Houlton a week later to face hometown favorite Jackson Grattan, Dan Hedgewood and John R Braden.  John R Braden flexed his muscles and defeated his new rival in straight heats 2-4-3 but Willard was quoted as saying, “Chesley (H Searcey) is a true world champion and he will get better.  He is an up and coming horse”

Bert Lint was finally able to show off his horse before the hometown crowd on July 24.  A $1,000 Free-For-All attracted the same four horses and this time the locals were confident that John R Braden would go down to defeat against the new Fredericton champion.

But it wasn’t to be.

Chesley H Searcey finished 3-4-3 against his rival John R Braden in 2:07 ¼ - 2:07 ¾ - 2:07 ¼.

It was said that the local fans and the horse press were forgiving to Bert Lint and Chesley H Searcey mostly because of their gallant effort but also but also because he was still a world champion and Lint, who was only an amateur driver, was as well liked and respected on the U.S. side of the border as we was on the Canadian side.

It was to be Chesley H Searcey final race ever on August 8th in Presque Isle, Maine.  After winning two of three heats, both in 2:07 ½, it was discovered that the world champion had suffered a catastrophic injury to one of his legs.  World class vets were brought in to save the horse but he would never race again.

Chesley H Searcey ended his career with a record of 33-11-10-5.

*     *    *    *    *

Bert Lint died in March 1942 at the age of 66 and his funeral was well attended by many Maritime and New England horsemen.  He died of a blood clot from a leg break when he fell building an outdoor ice rink beside the hotel for his granddaughters Betty and Helen. Bert was the caring for Betty, Helen and their mother Ena from the time Betty was 5 years of age. They all lived at the City Hotel with Bert. Betty is Brian Johnson’s mom and she passed away November 11, 2011. She is survived by her sister Helen Lambert and husband Robert Johnson and 8 children and many grand children and great grand children

Colonel Dan MacKinnon said at the time, “Few men throughout the Maritime provinces and Maine are better known in the race game than the late lamented Bert Lint.  He was a genial gentleman and whether as a host at his hotel, as an owner racing a horse, or as a driver, he made legions of friends and retained them.”

*     *    *    *    *

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.