Blue Bonnets (raceway)
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Flat (until 1973) and harness | |
Notable races | Prix d'Été |
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The Blue Bonnets Raceway (later named Hippodrome de Montréal) was a horse racing track and casino in Montreal, Quebec, 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
Controversy erupted when the
In 1995, a municipal government corporation, La Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM), purchased the track and renamed it Hippodrome de Montréal. Owned and operated by the
Presidents
- H. Montagu Allan (1907–1920)
- J. K. L. Ross (1920–1931)
- Kenneth Thomas Dawes (1931–1933)
- Joseph Cattarinich (1933–1938)
- J.-Eugene Lajoie (1938–1939)
- Louis Letourneau (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 Paul Massicotte (2007–2009)
Press secretaries
- Charles Mayer (1950s)[4][5]
Bankruptcy and closure
On June 27, 2008, Attractions Hippiques entered bankruptcy protection,
Post-closure and uncertain future of the site
In July 2011, the rock band U2 used the site for a massive outdoor concert.[8]
On March 23, 2012, the Government of Quebec announced it was returning ownership of the land to the City of Montreal, on the condition that it would receive 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.[9] In October 2014, it was brought to light that the government agreement was never signed or finalized, leaving the redevelopment project in limbo and its future in question. Plans to demolish the racetrack and clubhouse building by 2014 also fell through, leaving the buildings abandoned and grounds overgrown for nearly a decade.[10] 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
References
- ^ Jim Alexander Coleman, A Hoofprint on My Heart (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1971), 110
- ^ Timothy Lloyd Thomas, A City With a Difference: The Rise and Fall of the Montreal Citizen's Movement, (Montreal: Véhicule Press, 1997), 41.
- ^ Abe Limonchik, "The Montreal Economy: The Drapeau Years," in The City and Radical Social Change, ed. Dimitrios I. Roussopoulos (Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1982), 179-180, 190.
- ^ "Charles Mayer". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. 1971. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
- ^ "Journalisme – Mayer, Charles". Exploraré (in French). Retrieved December 25, 2020.
- ^ [1][permanent dead link] Attractions Hippiques restructuring. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
- ^ [2] "Montreal racetrack closed under bankruptcy protection". CBC News, June 27, 2008. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
- ^ "Concert review: U2 at the Hippodrome; July 8, 2011".
- ^ "Montreal's Hippodrome site to be developed". Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ "Hippodrome development threatened as agreement with Quebec stalls". Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.