Raymond Stampede Race Meet

article by Gary Allison 

Virtually every year the Grandstand, built in 1903, spilled over with 3,000 to 5,000 rodeo and race fans. Ted Meeks and many others got their start in Horse Racing in 1914 when Ray Knight returned from Kentucky with 14 Mares and a Stallion. The Lund, Meeks and McIntyre families all drew straws for their horses.

Like many other things to do with horses, it was Ray Knight who organized the Race Meet with T.O. King as the starter. It is believed the first Raymond Businessmen’s Derby was held in 1920, over 1 1/8 miles, although there was a big race in 1916 when Charlie Kinsey’s horse and Spud Murphy’s racing dog met. The dog won the 100-yard race, but had it been longer the Horse would have had him. As well in a 3/8-mile dash, Lund’s horse Silver Tip beat a horse out of Calgary called Roberta.

On the serious side of racing, in 1916, Charlie Kinsey saw his horses finish: 1st and 2nd in the 3/8-mile dash, 1st and 2nd in the ½-mile and won 1st in a second ½-mile race. In 1920, a ½-mile free-for-all was won by Charlie Kinsey mare Lilly Ferguson; 2nd was Meek‘s horse Leo Dexter and 3rd was Brooks Juniper. In the Two-Year-Old Mile, Tommy Overton owned by Spud Murphy won, with the Woolf Family’s major placing second. Race Day also included the Boy’s and Girl’s Pony Race.