Dr. Ted Clarke, a long-time veterinarian in the community and booster of harness racing, died Saturday at St. Mary’s Hospital. He was 71.
Clarke was instrumental in reversing the fortunes of the Elmira Raceway and the Woolwich Agricultural Society, but is also credited with boosting the finances of other small racetracks in the province. He helped establish the Ontario Teletheatre Network in 1994, essentially bringing racing and gaming offsite to bring in patrons to raceways even if there was no live racing on any given night. In 1998, the Elmira Raceway became the first “B-track” in the province to simulcast its races across North America.
A co-owner of Eldale Veterinary Clinic in Elmira when he first got involved with the Elmira Raceway in the late-1980s, Clarke maintained his practice even after becoming general manager in 1995. He continued as vet until 2002 when he made the full-time leap to managing the raceway’s move to an expanded Elora operation that included OLG slots.
In the years leading up to the move, Clarke was a key part of efforts to save the raceway by proposing slot machines at the Elmira location. When township council of the day waffled, the agricultural society made plans to build in the Breslau area before that, too, was stymied by council. Eventually, a site in neighbouring Centre Wellington Township was chosen.
The decision to move was a difficult one for both the society’s board and Clarke himself, said Don Jewitt, who first joined the Woolwich Agricultural Society some 25 years ago at Clarke’s behest.
It was a good business move in retrospect, but a difficult one given Clarke’s attachment to the community he’d called home for decades.
“It was a hard decision for Ted to make. He wanted to stay, but it didn’t work out,” said Jewitt. “After that …he was very pragmatic in his approach – ‘let’s deal with it and go forward.’”
Though he’d known Clarke as the vet who’d come out to the farm when he had a dairy operation, Jewitt said he really got to know Clarke when he joined the ag. society.
“His passion for horses, I didn’t realize until I got involved with the board. He really cared about horses and the industry.”
That concern for the horseracing industry prompted Clarke’s moves to improve the finances of small tracks, leading to higher purses and more races, which in turn brought in more business, Jewitt explained.
“The whole teletheatre thing was Ted’s doing – he called the head of the racing commission directly to make a case for it. That was initially what saved the raceway in Elmira and the ag. society.
“Ted played a huge role in developing the racing industry.”
And the industry recognized his contributions. In 1999, Elmira Raceway received the prestigious Lloyd Chisholm Achievement Award from the Standardbred Breeders’ & Owners Association of Ontario in recognition of its racing innovations for the betterment of the Ontario harness racing industry.
Long recognized as a champion for Ontario’s horseracing industry and a driving force behind the Grand River Raceway, Clarke was made a member of the Canadian Horseracing Hall of Fame in 2014, inducted in the builder category.
Horses were a big part of his life, extending to the farm near Elmira, from which his wife Val for years hosted the Flame of Hope Trail Ride for the Canadian Diabetes Association.
Clarke is survived by his wife Valorie, sister Christine and brother David, daughters Carrie and Amy, and granddaughters Morgan and Riley.
A celebration of life event is scheduled for May 15, 2-5 p.m., in the Lighthouse Restaurant at the Grand River Raceway in Elora.
