Hippodrome de Montréal

The Hippodrome de Montréal (also known by its original name of Blue Bonnets Raceway) is a horse racing and casino facility in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It's location on Decarie Boulevard has been in operation 101 years.

History

In 1872 the Blue Bonnets racetrack for thoroughbred horse racing was located in Ville Saint-Pierre. In 1905 John F. Ryan founded the Jockey Club of Montreal, and on June 4, 1907 the Club opened the new Blue Bonnets Raceway on Decarie Boulevard. Montagu Allan was president of Blue Bonnets Raceway from 1907 until 1920 when he was succeeded by J. K. L. Ross, owner of Sir Barton, the first thoroughbred to win the U.S. Triple Crown.

As part of a program honouring important horse racing tracks and racing stables, the Pennsylvania Railroad named its baggage car #5801 the "Blue Bonnets."

In 1932, Joseph Cattarinich, Leo Dandurand, and Louis Letourneau purchased Blue Bonnets Raceway. 1943 marked the first appearance of harness racing and in 1954 Thoroughbred flat racing ended.

In 1958 Jean-Louis Levesque purchased Blue Bonnets, built a new multi-million dollar clubhouse, and in 1961 brought back Thoroughbred flat racing. In 1965, Paul Desmarais' Power Corporation of Canada acquired control of Blue Bonnets. In 1970, Robert Campeau's company acquired the facility. New owners took over in 1973 and thoroughbred racing would end by 1976.

In 2008 the facility filed for bankruptcy protection, indefinitely suspending all live horse racing for the first time ever in its history. This has cast doubt and uncertainty about its future.

Public ownership

In financial difficulty, in 1991 a municipal government corporation, "Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal" (SHDM), acquired the Blue Bonnets facility. In 1995 the Blue Bonnets name disappeared and it was renamed Hippodrome de Montreal. It is now operated by the government of the Province of Quebec agency SONACC ("Societe nationale du cheval de course") and is an all-purpose racetrack that includes live harness racing, intertrack wagering from racetracks in the United States, and off-track betting parlours. The facility has two restaurants along with hundreds of video lottery terminals and slot machines.

Bankruptcy protection

On June 27, 2008, Attractions Hippiques, the operater of Blue Bonnets, was forced into bankruptcy protection to restructure itself. As a direct result all live horse racing was indefinitely suspended at the Montreal track, and its two on site restaurants closed, with only its VLT gambling machines and intertrack wagering still remaining in operation. Initially the courts granted 30 days of protection from its creditors, however this was extended an additional 45 days on July 25, 2008, and then again another 120 days on October 6, 2008. Effectively, with the two extensions, Attractions Hippiques has a deadline of February 4, 2009. During this period most of the horses and staff had permanently relocated to other cities, casting serious doubt horse racing will return to Montreal. It is widely believed the facility as a whole will be shutdown in the near future, with talks already afoot among city officials to redevelop the land for housing.

Presidents of Blue Bonnets Raceway

* 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)
* senateur Paul J Massicotte Propriétaire d'attractions hippiques (2007-present)

External links

* [http://www.casinocity.com/ca/qc/montreal/hipblu/ Casino City: Hippodrome de Montreal]
* [http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/B2C/07/attraction_details.asp?SKU=15869%5FAttractions&selCategory=A%2DDivert Montreal Tourism: Hippodrome de Montreal]
* [http://www.attractionshippiques.com/ Official Hippodrome de Montreal homepage]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/06/27/race-tracks.html Hippodrome closes under bankruptcy protection]
* [http://www.rsmrichter.com/Restructuring/Attractions%20Hippiques.aspx Public documentation on Attraction Hippiques bankruptcy available on RSM Richter's accounting services site]
* [http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/insight/story.html?id=604647a2-ad97-4f24-981c-ebec5d38b3aa Montreal Gazette article on closure - All Bets Are Off]