Thomas Ray Connell (December 1, 1916 – November 14, 1986) was a politician in Ontario, Canada.
On December 22, 1958, he was promoted to a senior Cabinet post, as Minister of Public Works, which he would go on to hold for a remarkable eleven years.
On June 5, 1969, having already indicated that he would not be running in the next general election, Connell was dropped from Cabinet and he retired in 1971.
He set about to develop a horse racing facility in the Flamborough area, north of Hamilton, Ontario.
[8] He secured three large investors and, in 1972, work began on the construction of what came to be known as Flamboro Downs racetrack.