January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Crowds of more than 4,000 would watch the races
Plans to bring horse racing back to Shelly Bay trigger fond memories
Crowds of more than 4,000 would watch the races
Carriages that had transported the people to the races are parked in the middle of the track.
Teddy Champman, the former racing secretary of the Bermuda Jockey Club who took these pictures, remembers that in the old days the horses even put in a double shift, first pulling the carriages to the track before competing in the day's races.
Later stables were set up for them close to the track at what is now the Radnor Road Church.
The Bermuda flag flew above the Paramutual Building where crowds would flock to place ten shilling bets on the card of running and harness races.
The building, in front of what is now a basketball court, has been demolished. The football and cricket fields have taken the place of the in-field parking lot and the section of track which once ran alongside the beach has made way for a children's play-ground.
But a new plan could bring racing back to Shelly Bay, with officials hoping to put in a reduced quarter-of-a-mile track - half the size of the original but still bigger than the current Vesey Street facility.
Chapman supports the idea of bringing racing back to Shelly Bay.
And he remembers the days, before the track closed in 1961, when racing was more than a fringe sport on the island.
"We used to get Thursday afternoons off and everyone would come to the races. The Boxing Day races were the biggest drawing card in Bermuda."
Chapman said crowds of more than 4,000 would come from across the island for the Boxing Day races, with traffic queueing back as far as Flatts inlet to get into the races.
Even Edmund Gibbons, owner of the Gibbons company and the sports' main benefactor at that time, worked the gate to cope with the numbers.
Race days would run weekly from November 11 through to May 24 with a card of four harness races and four horse-races.
"A lot of the local boys were too big so we had to get a few jockeys in from overseas. It was very popular at that time."[[In-content Ad]]
Comments:
You must login to comment.