Thorncliffe Park Raceway was a

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

-area racetrack that operated from 1917 until 1952. It was located east of Millwood Road, south of Eglinton Avenue East and the CPR's railroad tracks. It was the first home of the Prince of Wales Stakes. The name is retained today by the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood.

History

The site of Thorncliffe Park Raceway was originally owned by John Taylor and members of the Taylor family, who established mills, a brewery and a brickyard along the

Don River (Ontario) The Don River is a watercourse in southern Ontario that empties into Lake Ontario, at Toronto Harbour. Its mouth was just east of the street grid of the town of York, Upper Canada, the municipality that evolved into Toronto, Ontario. The Don is ...

. Robert T. Davies, the wealthy founder of the Dominion Brewing Company and related to the Taylor family by marriage, acquired the property in the late 19th century and renamed it Thorncliffe Farm. The name of the farm, and later the racetrack, was inspired by Thorn Cliff, a house built on the west side of the Don River by a member of the third generation of the Taylor family. An avid participant in

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 ...

, under the banner of Thorncliffe Stable, Davies raced both

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

and standardbred horses. After his death in 1916, Davies' estate sold the property to a group of investors from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

who built a horse racetrack. The track had a simple but small grandstand structure (and covered area) on the northside of the track, stables to the northeast and more stables and parking at the northwest side. Home to

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

, the track also revitalized harness racing in Toronto following its opening on July 21, 1917. Among its thoroughbred races, the track notably hosted the Prince of Wales Stakes, the My Dear Stakes, and the Clarendon Cup. On June 5, 1937, W. A. Hewitt was one of the stewards which ordered a rerun, after the race was declared a

false start In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can resu ...

when one horse was missing from its stall and the flag had not been dropped when other horses jumped the barrier. The decision was protested by spectators who stood to lose bets placed on the race, and an angry mob occupied the track for more than two hours in a near-riotous protest. The track operated until 1952 when it was sold to the Ontario Jockey Club. Thoroughbred racing ended on June 23, 1952, followed by harness racing on August 12, 1953. The property was immediately transferred to a land development company, called Thorncliffe Park Limited. The neighbouring Town of Leaside annexed the nearly 400-acre former raceway in 1954 and demolished it to make way for the planned community of Thorncliffe Park. Today, the old racetrack site is commemorated by local streets called Thorncliffe Park Drive, Grandstand Place, and Milepost Place, as well as a number of residential buildings that took on racetrack stable names like Churchill, Maple Glen, and Willow Glen. Thorncliffe's Leaside Park and a wooded area cover the area to the south of the original racetrack.

References

External links

Horserace History in Toronto
{{Horse racing venues in Canada Defunct horse racing venues in Canada Defunct sports venues in Toronto Sports venues completed in 1917 1917 establishments in Ontario 1953 disestablishments in Ontario Sports venues demolished in 1954 Defunct sports venues in Canada Demolished buildings and structures in Ontario Demolished sports venues