Ayer’s Cliff Fair to inaugurate harness racing Hall of Fame
Race day at the Ayer’s Cliff Fair this year will be one to remember. With the inauguration of a Horse Racers Hall of Fame at the fairgrounds, Peter Mcharg has organized an event to honour and remember outstanding drivers with families of deceased honourees. One of the special drivers and his family will be feted at a grand luncheon on race day.
“The families are the sponsors of four races with the winner donning the cooler, (blanket) inscribed with the family name,” Mcharg said. “We’ll have memorial plaques kept here in a special corner where future fair visitors can come to see them.
“Did you know this is the 250th anniversary of harness racing and there are already halls of fame in Montreal, Quebec, and Three Rivers?” he questioned. “We’ve had harness racing at this fair almost from the beginning nearly 175 years ago, so it’s time we caught up with these outstanding people who helped develop the tradition at county fairs.”
But Mcharg wasn’t finished. “The track has been upgraded with a new coat of stone dust, graded and the corners improved. Just take a walk on the track and it’s obvious this is in excellent condition, firm, slightly rounded, and banked properly in the corners.” The program, which only comes out a couple days before the fair, will probably present a ten-race card, with coolers going to first place. Pari-mutuel betting booths will open Saturday at 1 p.m. and all is ready with paddock and “ready” stalls cleaned and freshened.
But Mcharg wasn’t done yet. “Come see what we’ve been doing all over the grounds from the best viewpoint here,” he coaxed. “If I can do it so can you,” he admonished, chuckling. We climbed up the steepest stairway imaginable. Mcharg, the go-to person when it comes to organizing race day at this fair, insisted, “If you want a great view of the grounds and how everything is already ship-shape for the fair, up to the race judges’ stand we must go.”
So, legs wobbling, hand clinging to whatever brace or something resembling a railing, up we climbed, emerging onto the judges’ small tower where, on race day, officials with paperwork in hand, judges with binoculars and, of course, more modern technology filming just about every part of the track will soon make an already small space seem much smaller.
Fans and folks who put their money down at the betting windows seldom see this aspect of a race as amblers or trotters speed around the half-mile track. Rules and protocol are strict out there and any breach or just about any misbehaviour is probably spotted by the officials in their watch tower. Folks who have spent a dollar or two or more are sometimes unhappy with race results, but the proof is in the pudding. The films of each race are just like the instant replays sports fan see and questions usually are quickly answered.
But the popularity of this event still runs high. Folks coming out for the Saturday race day should get an early start. Gates close at noon and parking is sometimes hard to find.
Once back on terra firma, a tour of the grounds was the next item on Mcharg’s program. “We’ve done lots of painting, as you can see. Even some of the roofs. We try to do some every year and I don’t think the public realizes how expensive all this maintenance can be. When you’re looking at hundreds of gallons of paint just to cover the grandstand roof, you can imagine, no matter how good a deal one might negotiate, it will cost lots of dollars.”
We stopped for minute not far from the stage. Mcharg was obviously proud of the team’s hard work. “And I’m especially proud the board thought the idea of a Hall of Fame was a great move. So, we’ve got a very special race day this year. We’ve also got caps, T-shirts and memorabilia of the 250th anniversary. By the way, do you know where the first harness races were held? Right out on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. How about that,” he said, laughing as he drove away.
“See ya Saturday,” he called, adding under his breath, “I hope.”