The Evolution of Hastings Park · 12.01.12
My good friend Tim recently sent me a couple of images taken from back issues of the American Racing Manual. They show the alignment of the Hastings Park racecourse before and after its 1965 renovation.
Racing history nerds might recall that this was not the first time the track at Hastings had been renovated. When it opened in 1892 the course was a half-mile oval, 19 feet lower near the far turn than at the clubhouse, and it remained as such for over half a century. On the left is how it looked in 1919 (City of Vancouver Archives photo CVA 1123-1).
In 1948 the track was expanded to five furlongs. To do this the course had to be shifted and rotated slightly to the southwest, forcing the demolition of the old roller-coaster and some of the Pacific National Exhibition buildings visible in the 1919 image. The “new” racecourse was slightly egg-shaped, as can be seen in this image from the 1964 ARM — what can’t be seen is that it still sloped slightly downhill.
Prior to the 1965 racing season the B.C. Jockey Club undertook another major renovation. A new 5000-seat grandstand was built. More importantly, the track was finally leveled properly (according to legend a number of wrecked cars from the PNE Demolition Derby were used as landfill to raise the north end of the course); the far turn was expanded to make it even with the clubhouse turn; and the homestretch was straightened. A later edition of the ARM showed a regular oval at Hastings (left), with the unusual circumference of five furlongs and 208 feet. See Google Maps for the track’s actual alignment.
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