Canada D'eh Pride: A Video Review of Great Canadian Racing Moments

July 1st marks our annual Canada Day celebrations and with national pride in mind, I thought it would be fun to take a Youtube walk through some fun and historic Canadian horse racing moments.

Without a doubt, the biggest influence in Canadian racing and a profound effect on the breeding game is the brilliant Northern Dancer.

Northern Dancer wins the 1964 Kentucky Derby


It's the first Kentucky Derby that I remember clearly and what a race it was for all of us Canadians.

Sunny's Halo wins the 1983 Kentucky Derby


Sandy Hawley has 6,450 career wins. He's won the Queen's Plate a record four times and has taken pretty much every trophy Woodbine has to offer. In 1976, Hawley won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in the United States after he broke thoroughbred racing's all-time money-winning record for a single year. Pound for pound, Hawley is arguably Canada's greatest athlete.

Sandy Hawley wins the Living Legends Race


Woodbine has the best turf course in North America and I LOVED watching Sky Classic put on a show. With the International bringing in G1 talent from the U.S and Europe year after year, 1991 marked a huge thrill for me when Sky Classic won in front of an adoring home crowd.

Sky Classic wins the 1991 Rothman's International


Sky Classic was a dominant turf force for a few years across North America and he represented Canada across the continent.

Sky Classic wins the 1992 Manhattan at Belmont


Sky Classic wins the 1992 Caesar's International


Sam-Son Farms have provided plenty of proud Canadian racing moments and Chief Bearheart is one I remember fondly.

Chief Bearheart wins the 1997 Breeders' Cup Turf


Sitting at home in an old Liverpool kit bag, I have dozens of old racing programs from the 80s and 90s. Dance Smartly features prominently in several of them.

Dance Smartly wins the 1991 Breeders' Cup Distaff


Kinghaven Farms is Sam-Son's biggest rival from my racing youth. Horses such as Play The King, With Approval and Izvestia are legends locally and deserve more fanfare.

With Approval wins the Canadian Triple Crown


Canadian Triple Crown winner, With Approval, sets a world record in the 1990 Bowling Green Handicap


Izvestia died tragically young but his legend lives on through these old racing clips. Check out his incredible acceleration into the stretch in winning the Queen's Plate. He's a horse who got it done on any surface against all types of competition.

Izvestia appropriately wins the Canadian Club Turf Handicap at Gulfstream


Izvestia wins the 1990 Queen's Plate en route to a Canadian Triple Crown


Izvestia wins the 1990 Molson Million


Why not end this on the most recent "Canadian" success. Our local hero, Mine That Bird, was a Sovereign Award winner as a two year-old and went on to win the 2009 Kentucky Derby after being sold to new connections. Just don't forget that the bird got his start here at Woodbine.

2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird breaks his maiden at Woodbine


Happy Canada Day, eh!

A (James E.) Day In My Woodbine History

Like so many horse racing fans, I was introduced to the game by my father. My family moved back to Toronto from Northern Ireland in the early 1980s, just in time for me to watch Key To The Moon win the Queen's Plate commencing what has been a lifelong relationship with Woodbine. A story I wrote about that first Queen's Plate was published in Woodbine's 50th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine.

Over the years I've watched numerous trainers stake their claim to Woodbine dominance including Mac Benson (Windfields Farms), Roger Attfield (Kinghaven Farms) and Gord Huntley with most any two year-old he saddled. As the 1990s approached, Woodbine was the stage for numerous memorable performances of horses trained for Sam-Son Farms by the brilliant James E. Day.

Day made his first headlines at the 1967 Pan American Games, winning gold in the individual equestrian event. The following year, Day would win gold at the summer Olympics in Mexico as part of Canada's equestrian squad. In 1972, a 22 year-old Day was the youngest member of Canada's Munich Olympic team finishing fourth narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. It was through his work in show jumping that Day met Ernie Samuel forging a relationship in the 1970s to head up Sam-Son Farms resulting in the powerhouse that would dominate Woodbine's top races of my childhood throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. The stable reached it's pinnacle in 1991, when Sam-Son Farms won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Owner while setting record race earnings in the process.


As I read through old programs I've stashed away from those glory years, I can clearly remember the red and gold silks of such Grade 1 stalwarts as Dance Smartly, Sky Classic, Regal Classic, Regal Intention and Hangin on a Star. Of this group Dance Smartly and Sky Classic conjure up the greatest memories.




In 1991, the filly Dance Smartly ran away with the Canadian Triple Crown under the guidance of jockey Pat Day. The filly would go on to win the Breeders' Cup Distaff that year in a proud moment for Canadian racing fans.

Dance Smartly - Class of the field in the 1991 Queen's Plate



Sky Classic was a different type of horse from Dance Smartly and their equally impressive performances demonstrated the dexterity of Day's abilities. Whether working with a filly or an older turf male, Day had the tools and patience to develop a horse to their peak in time for the races that mattered. Sky Classic missed much of his three year-old season in 1990 to injury but returned to a glorious 1991 campaign winning the Dixie Stakes, Connaught Cup, King Edward Gold Cup, Canadian Maturity and on a glorious fall afternoon the Rothman's International. To sit in the grandstand watching a Canadian horse win my favourite race of the meet against international competition was simply second to none.


A short, and by no means comprehensive list, of honours garnered by horses trained by Day include two American Eclipse Awards, Canadian Horse of the Year honours five times and two Queen's Plate winners. As a result, Day was voted Canada's Outstanding Trainer four times.

Perhaps the greatest sign of Day's Woodbine dominance is his 10 lifetime wins in the Cup & Saucer Stakes, a race held annually for Canadian bred two year-old horses run at a mile and sixteenth on the turf. Day saddled seven consecutive winners between 1984 and 1990 including Sky Classic, Regal Classic and a couple of my favourite Woodbine runners Grey Classic and Dauphin Fabuleux.

My Dad and I would be at Woodbine most Sundays during these glory years and I lived to thumb the program and find a first-time Sam-Son runner to wager upon. Each Sunday, it seemed yet another well-bred Sam-Son sophmore would make a stunning pre-race appearance before dominating the field at even money. So strong was the quality of Sam-Son horses that it was not uncommon for them to have multiple entrants in stakes races. They were brilliant and you loved them for it. I miss the battles between Sam-Son and Kinghaven Farms the way Toronto hockey fans speak of 1960s Leafs hockey.

Sam-Son entered three in the 1989 Queen's Plate but could not catch the great With Approval


In 1995, Day left the employ of Sam-Son Farm but continues training for others. The Day name will continue to be associated with Woodbine folklore as Day's daughter, Catherine Day-Phillips, now a renowned trainer in her own right, has proved to be as talented as her father winning stakes races such as the Arlington Million and Breeders' Cup Turf.

My young life as a racing fan has witnessed Woodbine spin and change from rustic raceway to resplendent racino but the Sam-Son horses trained by Jim Day will always hold a special spot in my heart. Each time I venture under the willows of the walking ring there will be ghosts of race days past standing tall in the shadows radiating majestic colours of red and gold.