The Polo Park Racetrack was a Canadian

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 ...

facility in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. Considered one of the finest racetracks in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

, it was built by

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The H ...

inductee R. James Speers. The six-

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

track opened in 1925 (replacing Speer's River Park Racetrack) under the charter of the Winnipeg Jockey Club and the charter of St. Vital Agricultural Society in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. At the same time, James Speers founded the Prairie Thoroughbred Breeders' Association to promote a breeding industry in Western Canada. In 1930 he created the

Canadian Derby The Canadian Derby is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Leduc County, Alberta. A Grade III event held in August, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced on dirt over a distance of ...

, a premier race for Canadian-bred three-year-old

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

s hosted by Polo Park Racetrack until its closure in 1956. Besides the track, the facility had stables, grandstand and clubhouse for the Manitoba Jockey Club. In the winter the racetrack constructed two large toboggan slides, which operated in each direction. James Speers acquired land to build what would become

Assiniboia Downs Assiniboia Downs is a Canadian horse race track on of land located in the Winnipeg suburb of St. James-Assiniboia. It is operated by the Manitoba Jockey Club and is the site of the annual Manitoba Derby. The track is located on the western edg ...

and granted an option on the Polo Park lands to

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

s who wished to build a

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

on the site. Speers died in July 1955 and Polo Park Racetrack closed at the end of the 1956 racing season. The new mall opened in 1959. Winnipeg did not have a racing meet in 1957, but Assiniboia Downs opened in June 1958 and racing continued.

References

* Wilson, Keith & Lussier, Antoine S. ''Off And Running – Horse Racing in Manitoba'' (1978) Peguis Publishers Limited

External links

Assiniboia Downs Website
Sports venues in Winnipeg Defunct horse racing venues in Canada St. James, Winnipeg {{Manitoba-geo-stub