Long Branch Racetrack
It was situated in Etobicoke, then a township, just north of the village of Long Branch and just west of the city of Toronto.
Nickle declared the letters patent received by Orpen to be invalid because they were for athletic purposes only, meaning that betting was illegal.
[4] The case went to trial where the Crown argued that the letters of incorporation for the Long Branch Racing Association made no mention of horse-racing.
Long Branch lost the case and was fined $249, but announced that they would continue with their next set of races in October 1924.
[10] Orpen next filed a suit in December 1924, claiming the Government of Ontario had wrongfully collected a tax on the wagering.
The Ontario government threatened to deny Orpen a licence to operate if he did not pay CA$30,000 in arrears.
[13] Further, in April 1925, the Ontario government announced an increase in the tax on betting, estimated to cost Orpen an extra CA$140,000, based on his 1924 revenues from Dufferin Park and Long Branch.
[14] Orpen stated that the extra cost would likely mean the suspension of operations at Dufferin and Long Branch.
[34] The first winner over the one mile and 70 yards distance was Suffern, owned by Harry C. Hatch and ridden by Charlie McTague.
[33] The first race was held on October 10, 1938, and was won by the three-year-old Bunty Lawless, ridden by Tommy Aimers and owned by Willie Morrissey.
The children's activities drowned out the political speakers (Forbes Godfrey and Henry Drayton) and they had to cut their comments short.
[40] On September 17, 1935, a Stinson Detroiter made an emergency landing at the racetrack after a violent confrontation between the pilot of the aircraft and baseball player Len Koenecke, who was found to have died of his wounds.
[42] The site is today part of an industrial area in Etobicoke, including a large Goodyear Tire facility.
Along Horner Avenue at the railway line, there remains a column from the south entrance and a grove of trees leading north, marking the entranceway.
