Grand Opening on July 6, still on track.

by Matthew Lomon

Clinton Raceway announced Wednesday (May 7) that the start of its 2025 racing season will be delayed until Sunday (June 1).

The half-mile oval was originally scheduled to kick off its 15-card meet on Sunday (May 18), but due to ongoing construction as part of its highly anticipated grandstand renovation project, decided a slight re-tooling of the schedule was necessary.

Raceway manager Ian Fleming offered the following in a statement on Clinton’s official website:

“Until today, we were confident that we would receive partial occupancy to use the building, however, after further inspections, it is not achievable.

“We are confident we will be ready to race on Sunday (June 1, 2025).”

As for the first thought on everyone’s mind, rest assured that no race dates will be lost because of the delay.

Instead, the two cancelled race dates (May 18 and May 25) have been replaced with two additional cards on Sept. 7 and 14 to ensure the full 15-day schedule.

When the latest renewal of Clinton racing gets underway on June 1, the grandstand won’t be ready, but it won’t be far off, either.

Fleming told All Over Ontario that the upgraded structure — slowed by an unusually harsh winter — will absolutely be ready for the track’s Grand Opening on July 6.

Having the grandstand ready before then will be the perfect tie-in to an already historically significant day for both the Raceway and town of Clinton.

The southwestern Ontario community is holding its 150th anniversary celebration the weekend of July 4-6, with the race day at Clinton serving as the festival’s grand finale.

Alongside the unveiling of the grandstand, Clinton’s landmark day will also feature the final of its famed Kin Pace series, which pays homage to the Kinsmen and Kinette Club, who together introduced pari-mutuel wagering to the grassroots track in the 1970s.

“The Kin Pace is one of our big races,” Fleming said. “That’s a big day we’re focusing on right now. We’ve invited all the Kinsmen. They started the Raceway and built the last grandstand, and we’re going to have them there to cut the ribbon with us. That weekend is already planned.”

Additional highlights on Clinton’s 2025 calendar include Father’s Day at the Races on June 15, Free $10 Wager Day on June 22, and the 10th Annual Vic Hayter Memorial Trot and Wiener Dog Races on July 20.

Clinton’s renowned Legends Day, which sees a cast of Hall of Fame reinsmen turn back the clock in a one-of-a-kind racing and fundraising event, will return in 2026 in accordance with its biennial model.

Fleming added that his team has other ideas “in the works, but you can’t plan a lot until you know for sure when you can use the whole facility.”

What is for sure is that Clinton’s commitment to upgrading the property and shaping it into an even more desirable destination for fans and horsepeople has not gone unnoticed.

“People are excited to see that we’re updating our facilities,” Fleming said. “Whether it’s a grandstand, arena or a baseball diamond in a small town, once they get old and run down, you run the chance of being condemned, and then you’re really in trouble.

“Ours was a couple years away from getting condemned, but we’re very pleased to get it updated and accessible. The grandstand has never been accessible, it’s not something we’re proud of, so we’re very happy to get it accessible now and round out the whole area.”

As part of the upgrades to the previous grandstand, the new space will come equipped with 400 bucket seats, an elevator (as Fleming previously mentioned), pergola lounge area, and bar and marketing stations accessible from the 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.

Also joining the revamped viewing center is a multi-purpose semi-permanent event tent.

Fleming said the new feature will cover a variety of bases for Clinton, including everything from silent auctions and social events to simply providing cover.

“We get a different fundraising group every week, so it’ll be getting used every week,” Fleming said. “It’s a place for people who want to sit with lawn chairs and have some shade, and it’s going to be a good use of space, especially on a rainy day. We never had a plan B when it rained, so this will be great for that.”

As for what this sequence of refinements means for horsepeople, Fleming hopes it will reinforce Clinton’s prowess as one of Ontario’s premier horse racing destinations.

“The horse racing business in Clinton is far more than the 15 days we race,” he said. “Sixty-five horses trained at Clinton all winter, and those horses are either homebreds or horsepeople bought at sales. They’re all buying feed in this area, and the people that are doing it full time are living in this area.

“I think it’s what the intention of the small tracks has always been. We’re just wanting to grow that as much as we can, and new facilities are a great place to start. That all helps solidify Clinton’s position as a racing hub.”

The 2019 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee has made a career of thinking proactively.

“We’ve noticed in other towns this big cycle that if the racing stops, it isn’t too far down the road that the training stops as well,” Fleming said. “We’re very pleased to get our facilities up to speed and it puts us in a good position for racing and operating the training center, too.

“It gives our horsepeople a lot of reassurance that we’re going to be around for a long time.”

With so much to keep tabs on ahead of yet another campaign at the helm of his hometown track, Fleming remains focused on finding innovative ways to expose more people to the sport.

The accessible grandstand, event tent, theme days, emphasis on training, and everything else in between, embody the Raceway’s pledge to growing the game.

“What we’re going to try and accomplish is get more people out to the track,” Fleming said. “That might not translate to more handle right off the bat, but hopefully, we can grow some people that not just want to bet on Clinton, and maybe want to join HPI and bet on racing around the world.

“A new space, initially, is about getting people out, getting them interested, and hopefully transitioning some of them into wagering. At the start, it’s about getting people out for the event, and getting them interested in the sport at large.”

In the meantime, Fleming and Co. will continue to spend their days at the track preparing for opening day, brimming with anticipation for the start of a new era of Clinton racing.

“We’ve been watching it every day since last fall,” Fleming said. “When you look every day, it doesn’t look like it’s progressing that quickly, but it’s coming together, and it’s going to be gratifying to see the finished product.”