McCallum says he’ll rebuild Fraser Downs, barns on Cloverdale Fairgrounds, if elected
Published 5:00 pm Friday, October 9, 2026
Doug McCallum says racing will return to Cloverdale, if he’s elected on Oct. 17.
McCallum promised to bring harness racing back to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds for the fall of 2027. He said he and his Safe Surrey Coalition slate will rebuild Fraser Downs and the backstretch barns.
The City of Surrey yanked the lease back from Great Canadian Entertainment—the company then running the track and casino—in August, 2025, without warning and just weeks before a fall race meet was set to run. The move closed the track and racing at the 5/8 oval ended after 49 years.
“My promise to Cloverdale is simple,” mayoral candidate Doug McCallum said in a press release. “The barns go back up, the horses come home, and nobody at City Hall ever bulldozes over this community again without asking it first.”
He said 6,000 people signed a petition to stop the closure. Citing numbers from Harness Racing BC, McCallum added 218 members and 75 to 100 people who worked at the track lost jobs when the season was abruptly cancelled.
McCallum also promised to protect the iconic Cloverdale Fairgrounds with a special bylaw that will require a public vote before any part of the ‘Grounds is ever sold or redeveloped.
As part of his Safe Surrey Coalition Cloverdale policy plank McCallum promised to: 1.) rebuild the barns and the oval and bring harness racing back to Cloverdale, 2.) enact a bylaw that will require a public vote before any Fairgrounds redevelopment takes place, 3.) protectiotn of “Old Cloverdale and the Fairgrounds,” and 4.) Bring the Harness Racing BC office back to the Fairgrounds, and make the city work with the industry and the Province to restore horse racing.
McCallum was named CEO of Harness Racing B.C. in 2010. He previously served as the mayor of Surrey twice, from 1996 – 2005 and from 2018 – 2022.
READ MORE:
Fraser Downs closes; horse racing over for good in Cloverdale
BARNS DOWN: excavators raze iconic buildings on Cloverdale Fairgrounds