My Week At Woodbine

On Thursday night, I visited Woodbine's new $11.5M Harness Paddock and Retention Centre - a building whose sole purpose seemed to be blocking the view of the start of seven furlong races. After my visit, I can now appreciate the magic of this new building. On approach, the building rises before you like a cathedral and perhaps a different soul purpose as the backstretch towers provide heavenly lighting. The stable itself houses hundreds of standardbreds readying for the evening's races and the building literally hums with excitement.


(Triple Dead Heat in need of a haircut.)

My task for the evening was to snap photos of Down The Stretch editor Peter Gross wearing Randy Waples colours for the next edition of our paper. We spoke with driver Jody Jamieson who helped us out by providing a horse and bike for Peter as props. Jamieson, with over 4,000 career victories, has won every important race you can name including the Little Brown Jug and the North America Cup - it was great that he took care of us despite a busy card.

On Saturday I watched the races from Woodbine's sixth floor press box and met track announcer Dan Loiselle, who on introduction declared, "Sure...Triple Dead Heat. I've read that, good stuff!" I nearly fell off my chair. Loiselle is a gentleman, full of stories and always smiling. It took some time for me to adjust to listening to Loiselle speak without looking at my program to see which horse might be surging to the wire. The man's voice could make a public reading of the Rules of Civil Procedure exciting.

A nice day of wagering was capped by an exactor of Shut It Down to win the Frost King Stakes at 11-1 on top of Wildcat Fashion for a $109.50 payout. Tyler Pizarro celebrated his brilliant ride with a series of fist pumps. Shut It Down had never been further than two lengths behind the hot favourite Mean Green in two previous outings and was sitting on a big race. Mean Green bounced to finish fourth.

A great weekend was topped off by meeting Sandy Hawley and Laffit Pincay Jr. The two legends spoke at length on Saturday at Woodbine and then made their way on Sunday to Greenwood Teletheatre to do it all over again. A big crowd showed up to both events for the chance to meet a four time Queen's Plate winner (Hawley) and a Kentucky Derby winner (Pincay Jr.)

(15,980 wins - Pincay Jr., Triple Dead Heat and Hawley.)

I surprised both jocks by showing up with a program from the 1988 Rothman's International won by the filly Infamy.



In 1988 I was 14 and already a big racing fan. International Day brought the best jockeys from all over the world to the track and the opportunity for a starstruck kid to collect a few autographs. Some of the legends riding that day included Ray Cochrane, Robbie Davis, Eddie Maple, Angel Cordero Jr., Chris Antley, Jose Santos as well as Hawley and Pincay Jr.

At first Laffit was certain he was not in Toronto for that race, but Hawley pointed to his now 20 year-old signature on River Memories and it all started flooding back. I didn't get to meet Hawley on International day, but Sunday he took the time to sign the program for me while shaking his head in wonder at the names of jockeys he competed against.

To meet heavy hitters like Hawley and Pincay Jr is the equivalent of a baseball fan meeting Joe Dimaggio and Hank Aaron. The energy created by the two friends will do far more to bring the public back to the track than any number of television screens in distant teletheatres.

Well done Woodbine. With some racing luck, next year's Woodbine Oaks day might co-incide with a Legend's Race - and hopefully make a few new fans for a sport where the average age of attendees is 45 and rising.

Legends Race To Be Held At Woodbine in 2009?

Laffit Pincay Jr and Sandy Hawley entertained Woodbine patrons with a raucous retelling of racetrack stories on Saturday as WEG honoured Hawley's Breeders' Cup week victory aboard Tribal Chief in the Living Legends race. The two jocks have a combined 15,980 wins in their illustrious careers and have maintained a great friendship long after their racing days.



Hawley recalled, during his younger days in California, seeing a shirtless Pincay Jr for the first time and remarked, "he looked like a small Arnold Schwarzeneger." Pincay Jr.'s natural strength was one of his great attributes, but his muscular physique also served to hamper his ability to keep his weight down - a demon for many jockeys. Pincay Jr spoke about his countless attempts to change his diet, medications and even a trip to a fat farm. No doubt, he was the only 120lb patient in the facility.

As a kid growing up in Panama, Pincay Jr. said, "I was too small to play baseball, so I became a jockey like my dad. I had my license by the time I was 17 and I dreamed of riding in America." The soon to be legend was an instant success in his homeland and before long he was on a plane heading to America for bigger purses and world wide acclaim. He daydreamed about the two people he most wanted to meet, "Willie Shoemaker....and Kim Novak. I got to meet Shoemaker" but a regretful Pincay Jr. sighed, "I never did meet Novak." He spoke excitedly of Shoemaker, still amazed after all these years at how the slight Shoemaker was able to guide so many powerful thoroughbreds to the winners enclosure.

The admiration between the two former combatants was evident. While speaking about Hawley's physical riding style, Pincay Jr. laughed, "Horses always ran faster for Sandy, he scared the crap out of horses." He also spoke fondly of Hawley's trademark whip change from right hand to left by biting the whip between his teeth during the exchange - a trend soon picked up by other California jockeys. Hawley interjected to say that as he waited in the starting gate aboard Tribal Chief, "I was reminding myself not to bite my lip!"



When asked which horse was the best he ever rode, Pincay Jr immediately spoke of Affirmed. "When you got in the gate on Affirmed, he stood very quiet and dominated. He's going to run and he's going to win and he was always the first out of the gate." Not a bad choice considering the roster of champions at his disposal, including a Kentucky Derby winner in Swale and the fabulous filly Desert Vixen.

Hawley proclaimed Youth as his most excellent equine. The magnificent three year old beat Dahlia in the 1976 International at Woodbine and followed it up by beating another all star cast in the Washington D.C International weeks later. In those days, there was no Breeders' Cup, but Hawley states, "Youth would win today's best turf races by ten lengths." Hawley regretted that Youth was retired following his three year old campaign, as he was only able to ride the colt a handful of times.


Though the 62 year-old Pincay Jr.is no longer able to ride competitively, he is still a physical specimen and continues to work out. He travels throughout North America to promote the Breeders' Cup and has visited distant locales such as Brazil and Argentina to tell his tales and encourage fans to flock to the track. "There are not as many people at the track today as there used to be. There are too many betting parlours and not enough people come out to watch. I miss seeing the full grandstand."

As the main organizer behind the Living Legends race, Pincay Jr plans to hold two such events next year - one of which could be held at Woodbine. Hawley is hopeful that his old friend will be able to ride in next year's race. As the interview ended and the crowd lined up to feast on a celebratory cake, Hawley invited Pincay Jr. to have a slice and a wistful legend smiled, "well, maybe just a bite." Perhaps next year's Living Legend's race will be the icing on Laffit's cake.