The Polo Park Racetrack was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Considered one of the finest racetracks in Western Canada

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

, it was built by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....

 inductee R. James Speers

Robert James Speers

Robert James "Jim" Speers was a Canadian businessman and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame inductee who made a major contribution to the growth of Thoroughbred horse racing in Western Canada....

. The six furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

 track opened in 1925 under the charter of the Winnipeg Jockey Club and the charter of St. Vital Agricultural Society in Winnipeg, Manitoba. At the same time, James Speers founded the Prairie Thoroughbred Breeders' Association to promote a breeding industry in Western Canada. In 1930 he created the Canadian Derby

Canadian Derby

The Canadian Derby is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alberta. A Grade III event held near the end of August, it is open to thee-year-old horses and is raced on dirt over a distance of one and three-eights miles...

, a premier race for Canadian-bred three-year old Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

s hosted by Polo Park Racetrack until its closure in 1956.

In the winter the racetrack constructed two large toboggan slides, which operated in each direction.

James Speers acquired land to build what would become Assiniboia Downs

Assiniboia Downs

Assiniboia Downs is a Canadian horse race track opened in June 1958 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The main track is a six-and-one-half furlong oval....

 and granted an option on the Polo Park lands to real estate developers who wished to build a shopping centre

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

 on the site. Speers died in July 1955 and Polo Park Racetrack closed at the end of the 1956 racing season; the new mall

Polo Park

Polo Park is Winnipeg's largest retail and entertainment district. It is the largest mall out of the eight malls in the city. Situated on the former Polo Park Racetrack, the Polo Park Mall was built in 1959. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in Winnipeg when a roof was added in 1963...

opened in 1959. Winnipeg did not have a racing meet in 1957, but Assiniboia Downs opened in June 1958 and racing continued.