The Blue Bonnets Raceway (later named Hippodrome de Montréal) was a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track and

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. It closed on October 13, 2009, after 137 years of operation. Demolition of the site began in mid-2018, after sitting abandoned and derelict for nearly a decade.

History

In 1905, John F. Ryan founded the Jockey Club of Montreal, which on June 4, 1907, opened the Blue Bonnets Raceway on

Decarie Boulevard Autoroute 15 is a Autoroute (Quebec), highway in western Quebec, Canada. It is also called the Décarie Expressway (English) or (French) between the Turcot Interchange, Turcot and Décarie Interchange, Décarie Interchanges in Montreal and th ...

. In 1958,

Jean-Louis Levesque Jean-Louis is a given name, especially for French males. Notable people named "Jean-Louis" include: * Jean-Louis Alléon-Dulac, French naturalist * Jean-Louis Aubert, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer * Jean-Louis Baribea ...

undertook major renovations that included building a multi-million-dollar clubhouse for the Blue Bonnets Raceway, and by 1961 it began to challenge the preeminence of the Ontario racing industry. From 1961 to 1975, the Raceway was home to the

Quebec Derby The Quebec Derby was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually between 1961 and 1975 at Hippodrome de Montreal, Blue Bonnets Raceway in Montreal, Canada. A race for three-year-olds on dirt, it was run over a distance of {{convert, 1+1/8, mi, ...

, an annual horse race conceived by Levesque. Controversy erupted when the Namur metro station was built in close proximity to the Blue Bonnets Raceway. The

Montreal Tramways Company Prior to 1959, Montreal, Quebec, Canada had an extensive streetcar system. The streetcar network had its beginnings with the horsecar era of the Montreal City Passenger Railway in 1861. The initial line was along Rue Notre Dame (Notre Dame St) ...

had run streetcars right into the race track site. Some argued that the metro station site was chosen to benefit Blue Bonnets, while others argued that the tram stations would address future traffic problems. This controversy coincided with a failed Blue Bonnets development project. In 1995, a municipal government corporation, La Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM), purchased the track and renamed it Hippodrome de Montréal. Owned and operated by the

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...

agency Société nationale du cheval de course (SONACC), it offered harness racing, inter-track wagering from the United States,

off-track betting Off-track betting (or OTB; in British English, off-course betting) is sanctioned gambling on greyhound racing or horse racing outside a race track. U.S. history Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track bet ...

, two restaurants, and hundreds of video lottery terminals and

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

Presidents

H. Montagu Allan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Andrew Montagu Allan, (October 13, 1860 – September 26, 1951) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the principal heir of his father, Sir Hugh Allan, and became deputy chairman of the family-owned ...

(1907–1920) *

J. K. L. Ross Commander John Kenneth Leveson "Jack" Ross, Order of the British Empire, CBE (31 March 1876 – 25 July 1951) was a Canadian businessman, sportsman, thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist. He is best remembered ...

(1920–1931) * Kenneth Thomas Dawes (1931–1933) *

Joseph Cattarinich Joseph Jean Étienne Stanislas Cattarinich (November 13, 1881 – December 7, 1938), was a Canadian professional Ice hockey player, and co-owner of horse racing tracks in Canada and the United States as well as a co-owner of the Montreal Canadien ...

(1933–1938) * J.-Eugene Lajoie (1938–1939) *

Louis Letourneau Hilarion Adolphe "Louis" Letourneau (1868 – April 29, 1952) was an ice hockey team owner of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team. Following the death of George Kennedy, (Montreal Canadiens owner), in October 1921, Letourneau: Leo Dandurand and ...

(1939–1942) * J. Eugene Lajoie (1942–1958) *

(1958–1970) * Raymond Lemay (1970–1973) * Alban Cadieux (1973–1983) * Andre Marier (1983–1994) * Gilbert l'Heureux (1994–1995) * Jacques Brulotte (1995–2000) * Jean-Pierre Lareau (2000–2002) * Richard Castonguay (2002–2007) *

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Paul Massicotte (2007–2009)

Press secretaries

* Charles Mayer (1950s)

Bankruptcy and closure

On June 27, 2008, Attractions Hippiques entered bankruptcy protection, suspending horse racing and all other operations except its VLT gambling machines and inter-track wagering, which operated for a few more months. After the provincial government withdrew its support, Attractions Hippiques declared bankruptcy on October 13, 2009, and permanently closed the racetrack.

Post-closure and uncertain future of the site

In July 2011, the rock band U2 used the site for a massive outdoor concert. On March 23, 2012, the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

announced it was returning ownership of the land to the City of Montreal, on the condition that it would receive half of the profits from any sale of the land. As per the agreement, the land could not be sold until 2017 and would require decontamination. In October 2014, it was brought to light that the government agreement was never signed or finalized, leaving the redevelopment project in limbo and its future in question. Plans to demolish the racetrack and clubhouse building by 2014 also fell through, leaving the buildings abandoned and grounds overgrown for nearly a decade. In the summer of 2018, demolition of the former racetrack finally began; however, plans for any future redevelopment of the site remain uncertain.

References

External links

Hippodrome closes under bankruptcy protection

Public documentation on Attraction Hippiques bankruptcy available on RSM Richter's accounting services site

{{Horse racing venues in Canada Defunct horse racing venues in Canada Sports venues in Montreal Landmarks in Montreal History of Montreal 1872 establishments in Quebec 2009 disestablishments in Quebec Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Horse racing venues in Quebec Sports venues completed in 1872