HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-02-14, Page 2741R(*.ice‘ivay has ben fitted whole area
• by Jim Fitzgerald embarked on what was to
1980, as well as being prove one of the roost
the 60th, anniversary of ambitious, and lucrative
the founding of Kinsmen projects ever undertaken
in Canada, is also another by a club, the establish.
important, milestone for -menand operation of a
the Kinsmen Club of harness horse racing,.
Clinton, one of the most track complete with a
ambitious small town pari-mutuel betting area -
clubs in Canada- and all the ,ensuing
It was exactly 1,0 years headaches,
ago, in June of 1970, that "They're off" is now a
the loCat Kinsmen Club , familiar cry at the
•
•
Clinton 'Community Park'
every •summer fro., Arne
to September, as
thousands of fans poUr
into Clinton every Sunday
for the horse •raees,
making it „ into one of
Clinton's major • in-
dustries.
Back a decade ago, the
two Kinsmen who talked
their fellow members into
what most people at the
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rf. •;•,
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• This is a picture of opening day pt the Clinton Kinnien Raceway on July 4,1970.
In the ten years since, more than 100,000 people have bet nearly. $10 million
' dollars at the plant, andtens of thousands of dollars have been raised for the
community. Changes include the old grandstand and judges booth, which were
replaced with a new grandstand in 1977. (News -Record photo) •• ,
Local Kinsmen...
•• from page 5
1977-78 President: Don Jefferson.
• ?' Completed the new community
grandstand worth $250,000 and had
' the biggest year ever at the races.
Held first ever Cystic Fibrosis Canoe
race down Maitland River and raised
$1,200. Successful beer. tent at Fair
raised $1,000 for, tennis courts at high
school. Staged • highly successful
barbecue with Kinettes and raised
$1,800 for minor hockey at the annual
Centennial Winter Carnival was - a
• sellout for the Kinsmen with over 200
coming out to bet. The. club don,ated,
$5,000 towards picnic pavilion. Hosted •
-the Zone B executive meeting in
March with 60 Kinsmen from 11 clubs
in attendance. In November the
Kinsmen helped the senior citizens
move into their. new apartments on
King Street. Over $500 was raised at
the annual stag.
.1976-77 President: Paul Kerrigan
Held a father and child night for the
arinsmen. The club volunteered their
11111Eme and a full work crew was -oi.it1
painting and cleaning up the Clinton
Park, preparing for the horse races.
Held a beef barbecue„: Aided a
number of other service clubs in the
weekly monster bingos. Decided to
sponsor a -Boy Scout club .and
presently also look after the Cubs.
stag. Continued to help swimming
pool fund through monster bingos.
1978-79 President: Dr. Graham
Bowker
Continued to sponsor and run Cub
and Scout clubs, and had several
successful outings and 'an Apple Day.
Racing season was another success,
with a large percentage of grandstand
debt paid. off. Minor hockey and ball
benefit by over $2,000Trorn stag night,
and helped Kinettes with street dance
under grandstand when structure was
• turned over to the town. Pledged
support for ne* floor at arena, helped
With canvass, and raised $1,200 at Las
Vegas night for floor. Paul Kerrigan
wigs Sinclair Service Award for Zone
for grandstand project. Raised $800 at
canoe race.
1979-80 President : Gary Merner
Record handle of $98,000 at raceway
help's club pay off remainder of
grandstand. debt. Pledge full support
for new swimming pool fund. Spring
_dance and barbecue raises $3,000 for
grandstand, arenafloor fund. An all
time record $3,000 was raised at stag
night for minor sports. Club plans to
celebrate diamond jubilee of founding
of Kinsmen Club with family day at
park. Plan Las Vegas night for March
1 for swimming pool fund. Set canoe
race for April.
• „,
Congratulations IV'
the Kinsmen on fine
service to the Community
FLEMING
FEED MILL LTD.
60 IRWIN ST. CLINTON 404438
tine called a "hair;”
brained scheme" were
Frank Cook and Ted
McCullough. The two
convinced the club of a
racetrack's potential, ••
'and the club and the town.
'has never looked back, •
"Our only coneern,",
claling Mr, Cook, "was
that such a large money-
' Making 'project might
dqtract from. the service
' other activities,
but it, hasn't. The club, is
still invoVved in many
areas and is very suc-
cessful; in all its fund
raising projects, •
Qualifying for the part-
mutuel . track was an
expensive risk, To meet'
,
the sppcifications of the
Ontario • -Racing Com-
mission, and the'
Canadian Trotting
Association, the Kinsmen
invested .about -$50,000 to
improve the.traek and to
build a pari-mutuel•area,
a 'judge's stand, a race
secretary's office, two •
barns; and a paddock
area. At the time, it was a
very big gamble for the
club,
In the early years, their
investment was returned
along with enough money
to pay for their betting
machines • which were
also rented out to other
tracks at. Woodstock,
Leamington, • and
Gode'rich.
"We made mistakes, of
course," Mr. Cook ad-
mits, "like putting the
• mutuel7area ;in a hollow
Where the bet -tors
couldn't see the race,"
In 1977,. the Kinsmen
made another , • big
•
gaMble, when they
pledged to build a new,
grandstand for the towu
after the proVincial
governMent Condemned
• the old -structure as being
unsafe,
iven onty three
• InOnths ..to tear down the
old stand, and haye anew
$250,000 structure Op by
the first week of June, the
Kinsmerv- .21ucky
enough to have dozens of
volunteer . workers - step
forward and ,offer; their
help, and with the aid of
the whole community, the
new. grandstand was
erected and completed in
record time, and not one
single fair, or race day
was lost.
-Working -'diligently aL
the races and with help
from the Kinettes, the
Kinsmen were able to pay
for the structure with
government grants and -
fund*, raising sehemes,
and none of the cost was
borne by the taxpaYerS, •
• About 3,000 inople •
turned out on 'the first
race day in Julyof 1970,', ...-
and pushed $30,000 „
through, the Inutuels,in
their first year, the
avorage bet was $351,000.
over the. 13 days Of
ralTstg.suinMer, the track.:
'
established two records.
when $93,000 Was bet, to
be brokei the *.Ixtweek
when $98,000 was
wagered, •
That first year of •
racing saw $515,000
wagered, compared to
over $1 million in 1979,
But over the years, the
real reason for 11 those
profits was service to the
community, as every
Turn tO page 9 •
Present members
Dave Beattie
Graham Bowker
Steve Brown
Jim Burkhart
Harvey Carter , 4
Ron Carter
Wes Chambers
Frank Cook
• Dave Corrie
Tom Craig
Dave Da I zel I
Mery Dill •
Mike Falconer
Al Finch
Bob ibbings
Gerry Hiltz
Mike Hodgson
Jim Hunter
Don Jefferson
Gary Jewitt
Pon Jewitt
Larry Jones
• John Kassies •
Paul Kerrigan
Dick Kloss
Doug Macaulay
Bob Mann
Gary Merner
Bill Murney
Reid
Arnold Riley
• Tony. Stauttener .
Dirk Van der Werf
Bob Win R iesen
Bob Vociderl
June 30, 1977 - The new Clinton grandstand was nearly full to capacity as a
crowd estimated at over 2,000 turned out for the opening day of the races. Over
$76,000 was bet by the crowd, who saw five divisions of the two,year-old Ontario
Sired Stakes worth nearly $22,000. (News -Record photo)
COMPLIMENTS OF
• Riley's
Barber Shop'
and Hairstyling
18 Isaac St. Clinton 482-7852
•