Summerside Raceway
Summerside Raceway is a Canadian harness racing track located in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
 Interactive map of Summerside Raceway | |
| Location | Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 46°23′57″N 63°47′55″W / 46.399194°N 63.798578°W |
| Date opened | 1888 |
| Course type | Harness racing (half-mile dirt oval) |
| Notable races | Governor's Plate |
Summerside Raceway is a Canadian harness racing track located in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
History
[edit]The original Summerside Trotting Park opened in 1876 in Travellers Rest, east of town, before moving within Summerside.[1] The half-mile track and its property were owned by Prince Edward Island native Stephen MacNeill. The track's first trot took place on October 24, 1876.[2]
In 1888, Summerside Driving Park opened at a new site on the northwest corner of Notre Dame and Northumberland streets in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, under the ownership of William T. Green.[2] Among the early races of prominent stallions were Hernando, an American-bred horse, and Black Pilot, a Prince Edward Island-bred horse.[3] Around 5,000 people attended the Hernando–Black Pilot race on August 30, 1888, coming from all parts of the region.[4]
Summerside Raceway
[edit]Summerside Raceway Ltd. was formed to conduct local harness racing in the early 1950s. The half-mile track was officially opened as the Summerside Raceway on July 1, 1953.[5] More than 8,000 people attended opening day at the Summerside racing plant, marking the largest crowd in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. Rt. Hon. Louis St. Laurent, then prime minister of Canada, addressed the crowd. The facility included a grandstand, stables, updated lighting and sound, and a resurfaced track, with costs near $175,000.[6]
The Governor's Plate was established as the main feature of the Summerside racing calendar for standardbred horses.[1] Summerside Raceway hosts the Governor's Plate each July, a top racing event in Atlantic Canada.[7] The inaugural event made its debut on July 18, 1969.[1]
The first winter racing card was introduced at the Summerside track in December 1970 by Bob Dewar, after which it became the province's primary winter harness racing venue.[8] In the late 1970s, the Prince County Horsemen's Association took over Summerside Raceway's operating lease.[9] The raceway's 100th anniversary was held in 1986.[2]
In 1997, Bert McWade, then vice-president of sales and promotions for the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, developed a three-year, $13 million plan to place eight tracks, including the Summerside raceway, under the corporation's day-to-day operation.[10] The region's harness racing tracks came under the control of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation in May 1998.[11] During the 1998 season, the Summerside track held many promotional events in conjunction with the lottery corporation.[12]
Red Shores
[edit]The racing facility taken over by the Atlantic Lottery was rebranded as Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway in 2009.[13] Red Shores' Summerside Raceway is currently one of the two principal tracks in P.E.I., the other being Charlottetown Driving Park.[13] It is situated at 55 Greenwood Drive, adjoining Credit Union Place.[14]
Track records
[edit]| Time | Horse | Date | Driver | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:12¾ | Billy Cope | July 1, 1932 | H. N. Power | Previous record 2:15¼[15] |
| 2:07.5 | Happy L. | July 17, 1943 | Earle Semple | |
| 2:09.4 | Headway | September 27, 1953 | Jimmie Given | Pacing record |
| 2:06.0 | Bay State Pat | July 23, 1955 | J. MacGregor | Pacing record[16] |
| 2:00.0 | Gemini Risk | July 2, 1984 | Wally Hennessey | [17] |
| 1:59.0 | Winner's Accolade | July 25, 1986 | Jody Hennessey | [18] |
| 2:05.2 | Scarlet Nite | July 21, 1988 | D. McLean | Trotting record for three-year-olds[19] |
| 1:55.3 | Woodmere Topcat | October 9, 1998 | Todd Trites | [20] |
| 1:51.4 | Ys Lotus | July 16, 2016 | Marc Campbell | Pacing record[21] |
| 1:57.2 | Osprey Impact | July 14, 2017 | Walter Cheverie | Trotting record |
| 1:51.1 | Roll Em | July 9, 2023 | Marc Campbell | Pacing record[22] |
| 1:57.1 | Bless Me Father | August 24, 2025 | Marc Campbell | Trotting record[22] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Harness Racing". summersidelobstercarnival.website. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ a b c "Milestone year for long history of Summerside harness racing". saltwire.com. February 24, 2026. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ "Prince Edward Island Historic Places" (PDF). princeedwardisland.ca. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ "The Turf Event of the Season". The Times-Transcript. August 31, 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "Ken MacDougall Gets Island Appointment". The Times-Transcript. December 24, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "$305,100.16 In Purses Paid Out In Maritimes In 1953". Daily Gleaner. January 7, 1954. p. 15. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "Red Shores Racetrack & Casino". exploresummerside.com. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "Racing Commission Ends Harness Dispute In P.E.I." Telegraph-Journal. November 29, 1985. p. 14. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "Racing Boycott". Daily Gleaner. July 14, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "If the New Brunswick government waits long enough, there will be no harness racing to have to bail out". Telegraph-Journal. December 20, 1997. p. 40. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "Harness racing still losing money". Telegraph-Journal. October 29, 1999. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ MacLean, Dave (December 28, 1998). "Okay, name droppers, you've had your pun". Telegraph-Journal. p. 33. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ a b "Charlottetown horse track keeps its name". cbc.ca. July 24, 2009. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ "Track Records - Red Shores | Charlottetown + Summerside". redshores.ca. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ "Record Lowered By Billy Cope At Summerside". Telegraph-Journal. July 2, 1932. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ Riley, Jack (August 3, 1955). "How Things Look in Sports". Daily Gleaner. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "Summerside". Saint John Times Globe. July 3, 1984. p. 32. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "'Alkie' Sets SR Track Record". Telegraph-Journal. July 28, 1986. p. 17. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "Summerside Raceway". The Times-Transcript. July 22, 1988. p. 37. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ "Harness Racing". Daily Gleaner. October 10, 1998. p. 29. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ Simmonds, Jason (July 18, 2016). "Gelding shatters Summerside record to win Governor's Plate". The Times-Transcript. p. D3. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ^ a b "Track Record holders - SUMMERSIDE RACEWAY" (PDF). redshores.ca. Retrieved 2026-03-19.