| Location | Decarie Boulevard Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
|---|---|
| Date opened | 1872 in Lachine June 4, 1907 on Decarie Blvd. |
| Date closed | October 13, 2009 |
| Course type | Flat (until 1976) and harness |
Blue Bonnets Raceway (later named Hippodrome de Montréal) was a horse racing track and casino in Montreal, Canada. After 137 years of operation, it closed in October 2009.
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In 1872, the Blue Bonnets racetrack for thoroughbred horse racing opened in Ville Saint-Pierre. In 1905, John F. Ryan founded the Jockey Club of Montreal. On June 4th, 1907, the Jockey Club opened the new Blue Bonnets Raceway on Decarie Boulevard. Montagu Allan was Jockey Club president from 1907 until 1920 when he was succeeded by J. K. L. Ross, owner of Sir Barton (first Thoroughbred to win the U.S. Triple Crown). As part of a program honouring important horse racing tracks and racing stables, the Pennsylvania Railroad named its baggage car #5801 the Blue Bonnets. In 1932, Joseph Cattarinich, Leo Dandurand, and Louis Letourneau owned the track, and in 1943 harness racing began.
In 1954 thoroughbred flat racing was discontinued until 1961, when it resumed. In 1958, Jean-Louis Levesque purchased the track and built a new multi-million dollar clubhouse. Seven years later, Paul Desmarais' Power Corporation of Canada acquired control. In 1970, Robert Campeau's company acquired Blue Bonnets; the track changed hands yet again in 1973, when thoroughbred racing ended permanently.
In 1991 the municipal government corporation, Le Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal ((SHDM)), became the owners of the track, and renamed it Hippodrome de Montreal in 1995. Operated by the provincial government agency SONACC (Societe nationale du cheval de course) it had harness racing, inter-track wagering from the United States, off-track betting, two restaurants and hundreds of video lottery terminals and slot machines.
On June 27, 2008 the track operator, Attractions Hippiques, entered bankruptcy protection.[1] All live horse racing was suspended and the two restaurants closed, with its VLT gambling machines and inter-track wagering operating for several months. Most of the horses and staff relocated to other cities.[2] The court granted 30 days of protection from its creditors in June 2008; this was extended seven times in sixteen months. After the provincial government withdrew its support,[3] Attractions Hippiques declared bankruptcy on October 13, 2009 and permanently closed the race track.
City officials announced they want the land for residential housing. Redevelopment plans were on hold when the site became reserved for U2's two-night rock concert (originally set for July 2010, the concert instead took place July 8 and 9, 2011 during their U2 360° Tour.) $4 million[4] was spent on a temporary open-air stadium which accommodated over 80,000 people per night. It has since been demolished as of August 15, 2011.[5] Development is unclear, as the Quebec government put the land up for sale for $100 million. Rumours suggested the land would be donated to the city.