Triple Dead Heat Joins The TBA

Last night millions of Americans rushed to the polls, and in a no way related story Triple Dead Heat was welcomed as a member of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance. The TBA, formed in 2005, is a collective of bloggers whose passion is horse racing. Advertising funds raised by the TBA are donated to racing related charities. I'm proud to become a member of the TBA.

By way of introduction to any new readers, I currently write for Down The Stretch newspaper, which is published out of Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. I started this blog, Triple Dead Heat, as a way to continue writing about horse racing and connect with other fans of this sport we love.



My introduction to horse racing was through my dad, Bob - or Irish Bob as he was known to Woodbine regulars. My Dad was passionate about horses and loved nothing more than betting on a "come-from-behind" horse. He had no stomach for front runners, courtesy of knowledge gleaned from betting on horses in his youth in N. Ireland. The European style was a slow gallop climaxed with a calamitous finish. To my Dad, a front running horse was nothing more than spent energy sure to be overtaken where the money is won.

Thanks to my Dad, I met the first of many horse racing favourites:

Horse - Key To The Moon, 1983 Queen's Plate winner

Jockey - Robin Platts, Four time Queen's Plate Winner

Legend - All Along, 1983 Rothmans International Winner

The 1983 meet spawned the memories for my first published story on horse racing, and was the beginning of over a decade of brilliant father/son memories before my family moved back to Belfast in 1995.

Though my family moved, I stayed behind in our hometown of Brampton,just minutes from Woodbine Racetrack, and pursued my college education. Over the years I have maintained my relationship with Woodbine and still attend regularly with Dad's best friend Ted. I first met Ted when I was ten years old and some 25 years later he's become a great friend. Racetrack friendships have the ability to transcend age and other barriers. I've made many more friends over the years at Woodbine and I hope that I'll make many more through the TBA.

Thank you for the invitation.


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In September of this year, I participated in a United Way fundraising event at Woodbine on behalf of Down The Stretch and AM680.
Our four person relay team included DTS editor Peter Gross, AM680 traffic reporter Eva Fragiskatos, sports media student Leigh Ellis and a rather pale Triple Dead Heat. The 200M relay race was won by police officers from 23 Division who hit the wire just in front of the Woodbine jockeys team of Emma-Jayne Wilson, Corey Fraser, Anthony Stephen and Eurico Rosa da Silva.

Video of that race, and other races from that afternoon, has surfaced on Youtube. Please note that the inside lane at Woodbine was playing slowly that afternoon and that the camera adds 15 (maybe 20) lbs.



You can still donate to the United Way of Toronto by clicking here.