by Matthew Lomon

While an active off-season is nothing new for the folks at Clinton Raceway, the half-mile oval’s long-awaited grandstand renovation has made the eight-month lead up to its 2025 meet especially eventful.

Clinton stirred up some social media buzz this January when it posted a series of progress photos and a digital rendering of the grandstand project on its Facebook page.

The collection of images showed a glimpse into the progress that’s been made since Raceway manager Ian Fleming told All Over Ontario last August that the tentative plan was to begin construction in September.

We caught up with Fleming, who shared the latest on the grandstand revamp, and more, coming to Clinton in 2025.

The 2019 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee said the new seating structure is beginning to take shape and is on track to be completed by opening day (May 18).

“We’re excited about how the finished product is going to look,” said Fleming. “A lot of the work was raising it up — that took a lot of time in the fall — so it didn’t look like very much was happening. There was lots of work going on, but you really couldn’t see any results.

“Now, it’s starting to come together, and we’re quite excited about opening day, that’s for sure.”

As Fleming noted in August, the new grandstand will be smaller than its predecessor. It will, however, be much more accessible and inviting for fans of all ages and racing experience levels.

The 400-bucket-seat viewing center also comes equipped with an elevator, pergola lounge area, and bar and marketing stations accessible from outside.

The patio area in front of the grandstand will now be at track level, whereas under the previous structure, it was a foot below.

Now, said Fleming, was the right time for an upgrade.

“The old grandstand had served us very well, but it wasn’t many years away from being unfit to use,” he said. “Lots of people helped us with this project – Ontario Racing, OLG [Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation], the provincial government. If we waited three or four years, there might not be resources available to do it.”

The new grandstand will be complemented by a new semi-permanent event tent, which will go up in the spring and come down in the fall, located north of the winner’s circle.

Outfitted with televisions and betting stations, fans can also watch and wager on Clinton’s live product from inside the tent space.

This project, like the improved grandstand, had been on Clinton’s radar for a few years according to Fleming.

And the push to get it across the finish line gained significant steam last year following a visit from Hall of Fame driver Ron Waples.

“Ronnie went through the trouble of bringing 60 people up for lunch one race day, and it ended up raining,” said Fleming. “We got a small tent out, and we were holding it down with cement blocks, but it ended up blowing over. Anybody other than Ronnie wouldn’t have taken it that well.

“It all worked out, but it illustrated the fact that we need to do a better job if we want to get groups coming out, having lunch and watching the races.”

Fleming and his team worked proactively to not only provide a solution, but one that can serve multiple purposes, while still keeping eyes on the racing product.

“Even with the old grandstand, there wasn’t enough room underneath to sit 50 or 60 people,” he said. “This tent will work well for that and serve as a gathering point for groups having silent auctions, get-togethers, and more.

“It’s great to have a dedicated space for them rather than hoping it doesn’t rain, and having an area roped off. This way, it’ll be a defined area.”

Fleming likened the tent area to the setup at Grand River Raceway, which worked diligently during its past meet to introduce new fans to the sport by hosting events on site.

Part of the hope with these new developments is that they will one: attract more people, and two: help drive on-track handle.

While wagering has been a bright spot for Clinton in recent years, Fleming and his team understand there is always room for growth.

“Our wagering’s been the highest of the small tracks for quite a while,” he said. “We’re proud of that, but a lot of that’s off-track. The small tracks need to keep trying even harder to get new people out. We’re happy with the turnouts we have now, but we still want to get more. We want to cultivate new customers that are going to turn into regular customers, regular players.

“We need to get more groups out, more people enjoying the afternoon, and we think a new grandstand, a new tent, and a new patio area will help us get new groups out. It’s going to be fully accessible, which it certainly wasn’t before.”

Fleming added that they’re paving a walkway up to the barn area as part of Clinton’s goal of greater accessibility.

Before signing off, Fleming lauded the efforts of his team and the construction crews who have worked tirelessly through difficult conditions to have the new grandstand on pace for the upcoming season.

“They’ve done an incredible job building this winter,” said Fleming. “It’s been the worst winter we’ve had in quite a few — snow and cold — and there’s a real dedicated team here trying to make it work and we sure appreciate them.

“Everyone put in extra effort to get us pushed over the line for opening day.”