If you like horses and Standardbred racing you might be interested in the open house at the Fraser Downs backstretch this Saturday September 24 2011. Address is 17740 62 Avenue. You get there from 176th Street. Turn east bound on 62nd Avenue and follow it along till nearly the end. There is a parking lot at the backstretch on the right hand side. That said it is usually packed full of cars and horse trailers from the people who work in the barn. Might be easier to park across the street at the Agriplex parking lot.
Barn tours start at 10:30am. Or thereabouts. They were late starting the tours last year because they waited until the qualifying races had finished when there'd be less horse and sulky traffic jams around the barns. I'm not sure what time the last tour goes, maybe noon or one. They close the backstretch at 2pm so to be safe you want to be there no later than noon to get on a tour. They have about 15 people or so in a tour and several backstretch employees leading the tours.
There is a lunch between 11:30am and 1:30pm. Last year it was sandwiches that you put together yourself, salads, pickles, and cake. Very nicely done and easily set up for the guests and backstretch workers to help themselves and enjoy.
Showing posts with label barns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label barns. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The old horse barns at the Cloverdale fairgrounds
There used to be a couple of horse barns in the east end of the parking lot at the Cloverdale fairgrounds. Partway inbetween the casino/grandstand and Greenaway Park.
People boarded horses in the stalls in the 60's and early 70's. All breeds of horses. There were two barns and one of them had an indoor arena. In fact if you look closely at the east end of the fairgrounds parking lot at some of the mounds where bushes and flowers have been planted, these are the foundations of the old horse barns. I guess they couldn't do too much else with them other than build them up and turn them into garden medians.
There used to be horse playdays held here on the weekends. At least once a month while I was growing up. Being horse crazy, I often walked down here to watch the games, wishing I had a horse and could enter the games. I guess by the time I got my first horse playdays were a thing of the past.
Once the Standardbred racehorses came to Cloverdale in the mid-70's, they were allotted the barns for stabling their horses. This was kind of the overflow barn. The majority of horses were stabled in the big red barns that are still standing in the backstretch area of the racetrack.
In December 1982 I came down to meet a racehorse whose career was ending and the owners wanted him to go to a good home. He was stabled in the overflow barns and that is where I met Mark. He'd had people sit on his back but wasn't really broke to saddle. It didn't matter. I fell in love with the gentle giant. The owners had a riding bridle they put on him and we led him to the dirt arena that was attached to the barn. The seller gave me a leg up and I rode him bareback around the arena. He was perfect. And two days later Mark Missile belonged to me and I moved him to his new boarding stable.
I don't remember exactly when the old barns were dismantled. They were still up and stabling Standardbred racehorses in the late 80's. They were down by the time the racetrack made renovations in the early 90's. I guess there wasn't much else they could do. There was no security in those barns. Anyone walking in from 60th Avenue had access to the barns and the horses inside. There are sick people out there who could potentially harm or steal a horse.
There is the Agriplex at the back of the racetrack, from 62nd Avenue, that is an indoor arena where horse shows and other events are held today. But unfortunately there is no stabling for horses. With the population growth around Cloverdale and many potential horse owners in the vicinity, a horse boarding operation would probably prove to be very profitable for the city.
People boarded horses in the stalls in the 60's and early 70's. All breeds of horses. There were two barns and one of them had an indoor arena. In fact if you look closely at the east end of the fairgrounds parking lot at some of the mounds where bushes and flowers have been planted, these are the foundations of the old horse barns. I guess they couldn't do too much else with them other than build them up and turn them into garden medians.
There used to be horse playdays held here on the weekends. At least once a month while I was growing up. Being horse crazy, I often walked down here to watch the games, wishing I had a horse and could enter the games. I guess by the time I got my first horse playdays were a thing of the past.
Once the Standardbred racehorses came to Cloverdale in the mid-70's, they were allotted the barns for stabling their horses. This was kind of the overflow barn. The majority of horses were stabled in the big red barns that are still standing in the backstretch area of the racetrack.
In December 1982 I came down to meet a racehorse whose career was ending and the owners wanted him to go to a good home. He was stabled in the overflow barns and that is where I met Mark. He'd had people sit on his back but wasn't really broke to saddle. It didn't matter. I fell in love with the gentle giant. The owners had a riding bridle they put on him and we led him to the dirt arena that was attached to the barn. The seller gave me a leg up and I rode him bareback around the arena. He was perfect. And two days later Mark Missile belonged to me and I moved him to his new boarding stable.
I don't remember exactly when the old barns were dismantled. They were still up and stabling Standardbred racehorses in the late 80's. They were down by the time the racetrack made renovations in the early 90's. I guess there wasn't much else they could do. There was no security in those barns. Anyone walking in from 60th Avenue had access to the barns and the horses inside. There are sick people out there who could potentially harm or steal a horse.
There is the Agriplex at the back of the racetrack, from 62nd Avenue, that is an indoor arena where horse shows and other events are held today. But unfortunately there is no stabling for horses. With the population growth around Cloverdale and many potential horse owners in the vicinity, a horse boarding operation would probably prove to be very profitable for the city.
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