Recognized as the true pioneer track of the province where harness racing under the lights made its debut in 1961, Western Fair Raceway has been a proud host of OSS competition since the very beginning.
Longtime horseperson and driver Rickey R. Moffatt suddenly passed away on Thursday, Dec. 7. On Thursday, in his 77th year, while behind the wheel, Rick suffered a fatal heart attack, which was then followed by an inconceivable motor vehicle collision.
This week's Rewind is the monthly version of 'Years Ago', a short review of a few of the people and events taking place during the decade of the 1930's.
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In this week s edition of Rewind Robert Smith recalls a very important date in the history of Canadian harness racing. It was 60 years ago that nighttime racing finally came to the Province of Ontario. On the evening of May 17, 1961 with a post time of 8:00 p.m., it all happened at Western Fair Raceway in London, Ontario. A few recollections of the times and some old photographs help to recall this very special moment in our sport s history.
(Photo by Claus Andersen courtesy of Canadian Sportsman)
For many years, in fact for several decades, everyone involved with harness racing in Ontario longed for racing under the lights to make its way to the Province. It seemed like every other area where the sport was conducted it had already arrived. In 1940 nighttime racing debuted at two New York State tracks; first at Roosevelt and a short time later that fall at Batavia. The next year Saratoga joined in as