New traditions forged, old rekindled at race track’s opening day

As the powerful animals prepared to take off around the historic oval in Fort Erie, Hailey Madsen was happy to simply catch a glimpse of them.

“I just love horses,” the young Wainfleet girl said. “They’re fun and they’re pretty.”

The Fort Erie Race Track celebrated opening day on Tuesday, May 28, with crowds returning to watch the races, enjoy some food and drink, and lay a few bets down.

For Hailey–who has made trips to the race track over the past couple years with her family, including mom Kerstin and brothers Hunter and Lucas–it was all about seeing the horses.

She’s had a quarter horse and a draft/quarter cross for about a year now, while the family had miniature horses before that.

While the visits to Fort Erie are relatively new for the Madsens, Thorold’s Jon Blouin is on the other end of the spectrum.

“My dad brought me as a kid,” he said. “It’s just the atmosphere, I’ve always loved horse racing.”

Now a dad himself, Blouin brought his child Tatum to the track for opening day, hoisting the little one up on his shoulders so Tatum could better see the horses as they came around the bend, galloping towards the finish line.

This year marks the 127th year of racing at the Fort Erie Race Track. Unfortunately a storm did roll through after the second race of the day, putting a bit of a hamper on things, but otherwise the day was a success.

Total wagering nearly hit $2 million for the day. The $1.9 million total was 11 per cent higher than opening day 2023.

The signature race of the day, the $30,000 Summer Solstice Cup, topped $250,000 in wagering, leading the way. Jockey Sofia Vives and horse Bellaspina won the race, keeping a slim lead for most of the race before pulling out well ahead of the competition at the end.

“Going into this race, I rode this mare a couple times already,” said Vives. “Today in the paddock she was eager to go, and in the gate she was eager to go, so I thought that we should break on top and secure position, and we did just that, then at the sixteenth when we cleared in front, we went for home.”

Officials had to postpone the final race of the day due to the weather. It’ll be made up on the next card on June 4.

Racing continues most Mondays and Tuesdays until closing day on October 22, 2024.

There’s also a wide range of special events held at the track throughout the year, including wiener dog, basset hound and the new corgi races.

There are also four special Sunday race days, including one coming up in June on Father’s Day. The June 16 day features two new $30,000 races, the Longrun Thoroughbred Retirement Stakes and the Longrun Thoroughbred After Care Stakes. The first race track farmers’ market of the season takes place then, and a variety of food trucks will be on hand.

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