Horse racing once popular at fair

By Ronald Bond - Argus Observer
Monday, July 30, 2007 10:30 AM PDT

Joyce Whittet (from left), Jean Brewer and Mike Clark stand with the sign Clark designed to commemorate Roy Brewer, who helped run a horse racing event at the fairgrounds in Ontario for more than 40 years. From 1948 to 1975, Brewer was the man in charge of the spectacle, which became one of the biggest annual events in the area. The sign will be on display during the Malheur County Fair.

Ontario - Horse racing is normally not an event tied to a county fair, but between 1934 and 1975, and again for a brief stint in 1984, racing was not only connected to the Malheur County Fair in Ontario, it was one of the biggest events in town.

This year at the fair, a new sign designed by Mike Clark will be on display, paying tribute to the man who was an intricate part of horse racing in Ontario — Roy Brewer.

“The reason that I did this was when I was a kid I worked at the horse races,” Clark said. “I went to the horse races every night for several years. It was really important to me. I knew the Brewers. I knew they were involved. I just wanted to have something for people to see.”

Horse racing first came to Ontario in 1934. The event took place annually as part of the fair and rodeo action at the fairgrounds for several years, during which time Brewer was involved in putting the races together.

“They use to have races during the fair,” Brewer’s daughter Joyce Whittet said. “They were just guys who had horses and wanted to run them.”

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Whittet said for years, these riders would simply line up, wait for the signal from Brewer, and take off around the track. At the time, betting was not part of the event.

However, the race’s popularity grew during the time and eventually became its own event.

“It just evolved (until) finally, (someone said) ‘Let’s have a race meet,’” Whittet said. “They all thought it was a good idea.”

In 1948, pari-mutuel (betting) horse racing began at the fairgrounds. Brewer was the individual selected to run the event, and with the dates moved to two weekends in mid-June, it quickly became its own spectacle.

“It was a big deal,” Whittet said. “It was an Ontario event. (People would) work all day and then volunteer their help. It was just a community event with Dad in charge. It was through the state of Oregon and we were sanctioned.”

Whittet said along with the fair itself and the Vale Rodeo, the horse-racing event was one of the biggest tickets to come to the area annually.

Her father was in charge and put pretty much the whole event together, but she said the entire community stepped up to the plate to help.

“He was just about everything,” Whittet said. “He started the races, was the certified steward for the state of Oregon and wrote (the eligibility limitations for) the races. He was also in charge of the pari-mutuel tickets. He was just about in charge of everything, but he had a lot of help. Everyone was a volunteer. He was a volunteer. We all were. Everyone kind of took (to) the volunteering. They were all into it, right to their eyeballs. The whole town of Ontario volunteered.”

The event continued to grow through the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s. In fact, an Argus Observer article from June 1964 said the event that year brought in more than 5,000 fans and $31,000 in revenue from the betting just in the first weekend.

Portions of the revenue brought in yearly went to the state and was given back to fairgrounds across Oregon, including the Malheur County Fair, Whittet said.

Along with the racing, however, Brewer was involved in the fair, and during his time working with the racing event, he instigated the process to put in new animal barns at the fairgrounds and tried to keep the grounds in good working condition.

“The fair was important in his life too, being a farmer,” Whittet said. “I think anything basically in my dad’s life that had to do with outdoors and sporting events and community (was important). I think that’s what he starved for.”

Health problems forced Brewer to step down in 1975, and the racing stopped the following year because no one else was qualified enough to do it, Whittet said. Brewer died in 1980. Four years later, a group tried to revive the event but did not have the success that was once on display. Horse racing was last seen in Ontario in 1984, and the track was removed from the fairgrounds a few years later.

Whittet hopes the new display sign will show visitors about the importance of the event, what it brought to the area and tell a little bit about the man who made it all come together.

“To me it’s a great honor and tribute to my dad,” Whittet said. “Even though he’s been gone since 1980, he’s been well known and liked. Roy Brewer was a name in Ontario. You said his name and everyone knew him. I think it’s just a marvelous thing (Clark) has done for my dad. I don’t know where he developed this idea, but it’s just a wonderful thing that has happened.”