This story makes me want to void myself

[LVGaryD]

Windsor Raceway To Cease Operations August 31, 2012

Driving to Windsor at 16 years old, barely even had a driver's license, when Don Swick said "Schmidtty, you drive the truck and trailer." I was scared shitless to say the least. Swicky and I were driving up some back road in Ohio, probably 250, when he said to give it some gas or we would miss the race.

I was too scared to go fast with a trailer, so he put his foot on top of mine on the accelerator and we were flying! Even remember the mare, Miss Tree. Drove up there from Wooster to do a $15 paddock. in 1972 or early 1973.

Great memories of the tartan track! 

[AmyHollar]

  :'(

[Wilderness]

Gary,
          It's only going to get worse in Ontraio.
Sarnia/Hiawatha cannot survive absent the VLT's either.

Dresden and Woodstock are also owned by the Windsor parent corp, and each of their survivals is in question as well.

 Leamington, which only races a few days a year is also in question.

[Wilderness]

One of the press releases that I read provided that the OLG will reduce the slots-at-tracks-program to just six tracks in Ontario.

 Woodbine and Mohawk are likely.

 Make your guesses after that for the remaining four.

Fort Erie is gone.
FWIW, GC racing was held at Fort Erie one year due the inability of Buffalo to fulfill their commitment, course this was decades ago.
 

[Maniac]

Makes you sick to see some of this stuff,whether Canada or U.S. and I guess the good old days are gone in this business. Wilderness I really appreciate the things you send me on the old Kite track. I was only 4 or 5 then but do remember Safford and Acky, even raced with Safford at Foxboro and Rosecroft, once again thanks.

[careless hal]

Another one bites the dust.  Have been to Windsor 3 times.  Never was very fan friendly.

[Wilderness]

Another one bites the dust.  Have been to Windsor 3 times.  Never was very fan friendly.

 It depends when you went hal?

In the 60's, 70's and early 80's there was a place more tailored to fans.
Their tellers were were some of the most polite and helpful that I recall at any track.
 They were the king of giveaways.
Most nights you could get a nice comfortable box seat down on the windows for a mere dollar. Many times right on the finish line; best seats in the house.

 The fries they used to serve in the grandstand were so large that they were a meal in itself.

 Today I'm told that the programs are distributed from a vending machine (used one at Pinnacle) and printed while you wait.
 Windsor's Provincial Cup programs in the early days were very nice.

 For a while they offered Wed & Sat double headers (course the stock was the worst) but the place was nearly deserted for the early cards.

 Decades ago, they used to have a decent program on Saturday nights and an even better program on Sunday night.

 I haven't been there since 2002 or 2003. Doubt I could get through customs since 9/11.

[careless hal]

All my visits there where in the last 12 years.  I'm sure it was not that way in the harness heyday.

[Wilderness]

Hal,
       In the early 90's and before simulcasting came to Mich, all the big-time bettors came from Detroit to play the T-Bred simulcasting.
 Don't recall what year the full-card simo started at Windsor, possibly 91 or 92.

For one season and a few weeks of another season, and back in the 70's, Windsor had T-Bred racing on the tartan track.

[Lockjaw]

While making a bet, I remember placing my U.S. dollars in the teller's view so that my transaction would be in U.S. dollars.

Also, there were tellers who didn't like exacta for exactor, and trifecta for trifector.  I remember being corrected more than once.

[Wilderness]

Lj,
    in the old days, they had separate windows for US & Canadian.

 Leamington into the mid-80's never had a method to wager US currency.

 When I was first there in the 70's they had a small limit (which I wasn't prepared for) on how many dollars you could exchange.

 In the early 90's, Sarnia would exchange US to Canadian (Can wagering only) and they gave you a receipt, which would only allow you to excange back what you exchanged originally.