Canadian Horse Racing Hall Of Fame Gala - Harness Quotes 08/09/23
*Photo by the Late John Watkins
“When I was a little boy, I’d be asked by my parents, ‘Jack, what do you want to be when you grow up?’ And my answer would always be the same, ’ I don’t know what I want to do, but I want to do something that I like doing.’ And of course, I had no idea what that would be,” Jack Darling said. “But, when I went to the racetrack for the first time and discovered harness racing, my dream came true and I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have been able to make a living doing something that I love.
“My thoughts always go back to my early days racing at Western Fair Raceway in London and how exciting it was just to be a part of it. Back then, I never would have dreamed that I’d be racing in big stakes like the Little Brown Jug, North America Cup, or Breeders Crown. And for sure, I never imagined having a horse like Bulldog Hanover,” Darling continued. “But as exciting as it has been racing in all of those classic races, it was just as exciting for me back when I was racing and driving my raceway horses in those early years. I just love the good old days.
“This is a tremendous honour for me, very humbling and I really can’t express how much it means to me and my family.”
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When asked to give three words that best describe Shadow Play, trainer and co-owner Dr. Ian Moore said, “Tough, determined, and for all of us and for all of our families and everybody who has been associated with him - unforgettable.”
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“Pure Ivory is truly Canadian,” Steve Condren said. “She lives in Kentucky now, but she’s truly Canadian. When she finally got bred to Kadabra, she produced the Hambletonian winner, our Kentucky Derby of our business, and she continues to do well for Cindy and I, that’s for sure. This award is a real honour and I just want to thank the Hall Of Fame for this wonderful honour. She’s very well deserving.”
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“My whole life I waited for this,” Chris Christoforou said. “When my parents first started in this business, my father bought a horse he couldn’t afford. And 50 years later, here I am. I owe everything to my family - my wife Camilla, my kids - I wouldn’t be here without them and so many people in this room. It’s just overwhelming.
“When I was a kid, people in my school wanted to be Wayne Gretzky, they wanted to win a Stanley Cup, but honestly, and I say this with sincere honesty, my goal was to be here. I am truly thankful to the Hall Of Fame for this induction. My family is truly grateful. This is one of the greatest moments of my life.”
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Dr. Lloyd McKibbin’s son, Terry McKibbin, accepted the award in his honour. “It’s a great honour. The Hall Of Fame is something that you never start out to achieve. You achieve it by doing something good for somebody and others,” Terry McKibbin said.
“Dad enjoyed teaching. That was his place on Earth was to teach things. He wanted people to understand what he was doing and what their horses were doing,” T. McKibbin continued. “He always wanted to help the horse and help the people to get a better life out of what they were dealt with.”
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“You know if you’re in the Hall of Fame because you’re lucky, you’ve got to be good. You’re good because you drive some good horses for good trainers and good grooms,” Gilles Gendron said. “We pass our lives in the paddock, farm, and the racetrack. It’s a lot of hours.”
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“As a direct result of the excellence and exposure from Canadian harness racing, I got to work close to 25% of my career in the United States at tracks like Batavia Downs, Tioga Downs, and Pompano Park,” Frank Salive said. “I did most of the meet one time at the old Calder Racecourse before it was permanently closed and as recently as last year, at Ocean Downs in Maryland. And the common denominator with my Canadian coworkers and the Americans was they all treated me so well and made me feel so welcome and so much a part of the team.”
Salive described one of his most emotional moments from in the press box as in the 2003 North America Cup. “It was very emotional because the winning co-owner/trainer Tim Pinske had just lost his son Brian before that race. He told me at the post-race reception that him and his wife were right under a speaker at Woodbine and they dove into each other’s arms weeping because my call included Brian coming to the wire. And I thought that really reinforces the power of our words as race announcers of the modern era.”
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When asked about a stand out moment in Bulldog Hanover’s career, co-owner Brad Grant said, “There’s a lot of things. One of the things, his races were phenomenal and his career has been phenomenal. But I think one of the things you learn when you have a horse like Bulldog Hanover is how he’s received by everybody. And Jack and Johnny, his caretaker, they never let anybody not see this horse.
“Everywhere he went, there were lineups of people to see him, The Bulldog,” Grant continued. “The Bulldog, that’s all you heard. And they gave the world every opportunity to see this horse. The races are great, but the response from the people, from the ordinary people, the bettors, just people that wanted to see The Bulldog because they had heard about him - I think that was a highlight as any.”
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(With files from Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame)