Hippodrome De Montreal Tickets

Canada’s premier harness racing venue, Hippodrome de Montreal boasts some of the greatest races with many a great names in the past and is very well known in Quebec racing community. This top notch facility also offers simulcasting opportunities in inter-track wagering and many off-track betting parlors. There are two fine restaurants with more than 200 video lottery terminals and slot machines as well as quite an exciting entertainment calendar year round. One of the most hyped events at the venue is going to be the spectacular concert by U2 in July 2010!

Conveniently located near Namur metro subway station in Montreal, Hippodrome de Montreal opened in 1907as Blue Bonnets Raceway by John F. Ryan, the founder of the Jockey Club of Montreal. From 1907 to 1920, the Raceway’s president was Montagu Allan who was then succeeded by J. K. L. Ross, owner of the 1st thoroughbred horse – Sir Barton – to win the U.S. Triple Crown.

 In those days horse racing was one of the biggest and most sought after events in Canada. It also played a major role in the economy of Montreal. In fact the Blue Bonnets Raceway was doing so well that the Pennsylvania Railroad named one of its baggage car the "Blue Bonnets", as part of a program honoring significant horse racing tracks and stables.
For almost a century since its inception, Hippodrome de Montreal has consistently attracted impressive crowds of racing enthusiasts and has been an important part of horse racing history. However, for the past several years it wasn’t doing very well and so is no longer an attraction now. Because of the financial problems in the 90s, the management of the Raceway was taken over by a municipal government corporation, Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM). After the change of management, several changes and improvements were put into action including changing the name to Hippodrome de Montreal, creating an enormous video lottery room, and also introducing  “Webphonebet” that allowed racing fans to watch and bet online. All these things really helped boost the venue’s standings in terms of popularity making it Montreal’s 3rd most popular attraction! Today it is operated by SONACC (Societe nationale du cheval de course) which is an agency of the government of the Province of Quebec. The owners of the raceway after struggling to keep it alive finally went bankrupt in 2009. As a result Hippodrome de Montreal will be closed down soon and with it this local equestrian heritage will also fade away and be part of the history books only.

However, before it permanently shuts its doors, the rock legends U2 are scheduled to perform live at the venue! The band has announced to give around 3million for the construction of a temporary open stadium on the polo field of the Hippodrome de Montreal. It is estimated that after this construction, the area will be able to accommodate 60,000 to 80,000 music fans. After this exciting news, the sales of Hippodrome de Montreal tickets have sky rocketed as U2 fans are not going to miss out on this golden opportunity of catching their favorite band at this historical venue!