HCJI Staff 

On August 15, 2025, Great Canadian Entertainment (GCE)—which operates Elements Casino and Fraser Downs on Surrey’s Cloverdale Fairgrounds—announced the immediate closure of the Fraser Downs racetrack, including the backstretch and stabling facilities. The casino grandstand, which houses the Great Canadian-operated Elements Casino Surrey, remains open. This decision stemmed from a notice by the City of Surrey, which exercised its lease recapture rights to terminate the lease covering the racetrack portion of the site.  

Fraser Downs, formerly known as Cloverdale Raceway (opened in 1976, renamed in 1996), had been the only Standardbred harness racing track in British Columbia following its nearly 50 years of operation. 

The news struck the harness racing community with shock and disappointment, coming just weeks ahead of the planned fall meet, which was scheduled to begin around September 4, 2025.  

Industry representatives, including Harness Racing British Columbia Society (HRBC) President Kelly MacMillan, expressed that they had been “blindsided,” with significant investments and preparations already underway.  

A groom who grew up in the racing community voiced the emotional blow: “A part of me is gone… knowing it was there was like you can go home,” underscoring Fraser Downs as more than just a track—it was a place of identity and belonging.  

The closure’s ripple effects reached beyond Surrey. For instance, Seaspray Stables in Cedar on Vancouver Island, which breeds and trains Standardbreds, expressed dire concerns: without Fraser Downs, their three-year-old horses would have nowhere to race, imperiling both their business viability and future foals. Industry veterans warned of severe economic and vocational consequences for trainers, breeders, grooms, veterinarians, farriers, and related local businesses.  

The City of Surrey defended the move as a strategic city-building step. Mayor Brenda Locke stated that Surrey is approaching one million residents, and recovering control of the racetrack land will enable planning and pre-construction for a revitalized Cloverdale Fairgrounds and Town Centre. The city’s vision includes new housing, public spaces, a $3 billion hospital and cancer center, expanded recreation (like a sports and ice complex), and preservation of Cloverdale’s heritage as a historic precinct. 

Notably, the Elements Casino, located in the grandstand, and Yuk Yuk’s comedy venue on-site are not affected by the lease termination and will continue operations as normal.  

Animal welfare groups also weighed in. The Vancouver Humane Society described the closure as long overdue, calling Standardbred racing “outdated” and “harmful,” citing serious risks and injuries to horses. 

In summary, the closure of Fraser Downs marks the end of nearly half a century of Standardbred racing in Surrey. It has provoked widespread grief among the racing community alongside broader public debates about urban redevelopment, heritage, economic trade-offs, and the ethics of horse racing. 

More information at:

• Harness Racing BC 
• Standardbred Canada

Sources: Surrey NowLeader, Cloverdale Reporter, Standardbred Canada, CityNews, Castanet, Nanaimo Bulletin, Global News, Yahoo and others.

Photo: Dreamstime/DM Stock Production