Queen's Plate in the Glebe
I just heard that the Queen's Plate horse race was once held in the Glebe. Is that true?
The running of The Queen's Plate, Ontario's equivalent to the Kentucky Derby, used to move around the province from town to town. Although it is now run exclusively in Toronto, it was indeed run twice in the Glebe, in 1872 and in 1880.
The Plate was run on what was known as The Mutchmor Driving Park, an oval track located west of Bank Street, between Glebe Avenue and Fifth Avenue. Mutchmor Driving Park was operated by Ralph Mutchmor and E. C. Barber on 48 acres of land leased from St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Mutchmor and Barber also built the Turf Hotel near Bank and Fifth to cater to racing patrons.
The thirteenth running of the Queen's Plate took place on May 31, 1872. In a field of six horses over a mile and a half, Fearnaught, ridden by Richard O'Leary, and owned by Alex Simpson of Toronto, won the 50 guinea prize in a time of 2:54.5. Governor General Lord Lisgar made the presentation on behalf of the Queen.
By 1880, the lease on Mutchmor Park had passed to the sheriff of Carleton County, W.F. Powell, a prominent racing enthusiast. The twenty-first running of the Queen's Plate took place here on June 29th. Bonnie Bird, owned by John Forbes of Woodstock, and ridden by Richard O'Leary (the same victorious jockey of the 1872 contest) took the 50 Guineas in a five horse race in a Plate record time of 2:47.