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The Blue Bonnets Raceway (later named Hippodrome de Montréal) was a
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic p ...
track and
casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, 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 a Blue Bonnets Raceway on
Decarie Boulevard Autoroute 15 (also called the Décarie Expressway (English) or Autoroute Décarie (French) between the Turcot and Décarie Interchanges in Montreal and the Laurentian Autoroute (English) or Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of Autorout ...
. In 1958, Jean-Louis Levesque 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 and 1975, the Raceway was home to the Quebec Derby, 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, ''Le 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, or ...
agency ''SONACC (Société nationale du cheval de course)'', 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 horse racing outside a race track. U.S. history Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track betting in New York was ...
, two restaurants and hundreds of
video lottery terminal A video lottery terminal (VLT), also sometimes known as a video gaming terminal (VGT), video slots, or the video lottery, is a type of electronic gambling machine. They are typically operated by a region's lottery, and situated at licensed establis ...
s and
slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
s.


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, CBE (31 March 1876 – 25 July 1951) was a Canadian businessman, sportsman, thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist. He is best remembered for winning the first United States Triple ...
(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. When George Kennedy, Montreal Canadiens owner, died in October 1921, Letourneau, Leo Dandurand and Joseph Cattar ...
(1939–1942) * J. Eugene Lajoie (1942–1958) * Jean-Louis Levesque (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 chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Paul Massicotte Paul J. Massicotte (born September 10, 1951) is a Canadian Senator representing the Senate division of De Lanaudière, Québec. He was appointed to the Senate on June 26, 2003 on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. On October 30, 2017, h ...
(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 race track.


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 A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
announced it was returning ownership of the land to the City of Montreal, on condition it would get 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 the government agreement was never signed nor finalized, leaving the redevelopment project in limbo and its future in question. Plans to demolish the race track 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.


See also

*
Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...
*
Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic p ...
*
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...


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