Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame welcomes Class of 2024

The standardbred inductees were Dr. Moira Gunn, Sylvain Filion, Ed Tracey, Bee A Magician, Dr. Ian Moore and Ross “Cowboy” Curran.

by Melissa Keith

On Wednesday (Aug. 7) evening, the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame held its Class of 2024 Induction Gala at the Mississauga Convention Centre, in Mississauga, ON. Thoroughbred and standardbred achievers were formally recognized, some posthumously, for their career contributions to Canadian racing.

The newest thoroughbred inductees are Glenn Todd (builder), Starship Jubilee (female horse), Patrick Husbands (jockey), Channel Maker (male horse), Dan Vella (trainer), and Richard Grubb (veteran).

On the standardbred side, Dr. Moira Gunn (builder), Sylvain Filion (driver), Ed Tracey (driver), Bee A Magician (female horse), Dr. Ian Moore (trainer), and Ross “Cowboy” Curran (veteran) were inducted.

A packed ballroom applauded after each new Hall of Fame member’s short video biography was shown, and cheered after acceptance speeches from the Hall of Famers themselves, or the connections of horses and posthumous inductees. Kelly Spencer and Robert Geller co-hosted the presentation.

Chuck Curran, Ross Curran’s son, accepted the first 2024 Hall of Fame ring from prominent horse owner Brad Grant, whose father Jack Grant was friends with the late horseman from Smiths Falls, ON.

“I know if my dad was here, he would have thanked the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame for this tremendous honor, recognizing his passion and dedication to the sport of harness racing,” said Chuck Curran. “He truly loved harness racing and horses. I don’t remember him having a lot of hobbies. Horses were his life. He would have thanked my mom, his biggest fan, his brother Neil, and his nephew Rick for their support.”

With a career that began at age 16, Ross Curran quickly rose through the ranks to capture his first driving title at Connaught Park, in Aylmer, QC when he was just 20. Ross later became a top reinsman at Mohawk Raceway, Greenwood Raceway, Garden City Raceway, Blue Bonnets Raceway, Richelieu Park, and Rideau Carleton Raceway. His best year was 1972, and he was second in North America before his premature retirement from the sport due to declining health.

Ross’ youngest daughter, Pattie Curran, told HRU that her family had nominated him in the past, and they were pleased that he was finally being recognized.

“When I went to the nursing home, Dad would always ask me when I was taking him to the races, every single time,” Pattie said. “We went to Rideau Carleton a few times. The best memory in my mind was going to Rideau Carleton, and we paid to get in; this was when you paid to get in. [Rideau general manager] Rollie Armitage came down and said, ‘Ross Curran should never pay to get into this racetrack.’ He gave us our money back, and we went up to the dining room. He asked us where we wanted to sit. My dad said he wanted to sit at the wire. People were sitting there. [Armitage] went over and asked them, said it was Ross Curran. Everybody moved so Dad could sit where he wanted to sit.”

Sylvain Filion accepted his ring Wednesday night, joining his father Yves Filion and uncle Hervé Filion in the Canadian Hall of Fame. His achievements were chronicled in HRU after his 10,000th driving win, sitting behind pacing filly One More Bet at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Oct. 23, 2024. He is still among the leading drivers there.

The Angers, QC native was accompanied onstage by wife Dominic Pare and daughter Stella-Rose. Sylvain first thanked “three gentlemen who made sure I had an opportunity to be elected to the Hall of Fame: first, the Honorable Mr. Hector Clouthier, Jr., Mr. Ted Smith, and the deceased Mr. Brian Paquet,” and his family.

Weyburn, SK native Ed Tracey was the next standardbred honoree. Although spending much of his driving career in Alberta, Tracey gained renown traveling across North America over five decades. Tracey won more than 3,100 races and $7.5 million. Starting out driving in two- and three-heat races as a teenager in Saskatchewan, the late horseman known as “Steady Eddie” went on to success in California, St. Louis, Kentucky, and Maryland. He won the 1979 Ice Racing Championship on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, ON and was Alberta’s 1979 Horseman of the Year.

Tracey died in 2019. A race is held at Century Downs, near Calgary, AB, every year in his memory. His wife Aldona and daughter Betty accepted his Hall of Fame ring from Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame nomination committee member Dr. Maurice Stewart.

Aldona recalled a special memory from the 1987 John W. Miller Memorial at Rosecroft Raceway, which her late husband won with Quille Lauxmont.

“I’d like to say that when we went down to the Miller, to the draw, and he got the outside on that half-mile track, everybody came up and told him, ‘There’s no way. You can’t win on this track, coming from the outside,’” she said. “And as they were doing that, I was thinking to myself, not a good thing to tell him! He would promptly go out and show you how wrong you really were. Which he did.”

Dr. Ian Moore joined his trainee Shadow Play (inducted in 2022) in the Hall of Fame. The horseman and veterinarian began his career in Summerside, PEI, where he grew up. He accumulated over 700 training wins and $23 million in purse earnings, despite consistently maintaining a small stable. His top horses have included Tattoo Artist, Shadow Play, Stockade Seelster, Century Farroh, State Treasurer, Percy Blue Chip, and Rockin In Heaven. He was voted 2023 O’Brien Trainer of the Year.

Moore accepted his Hall of Fame ring from wife Nancy.

“This is an amazing and very humbling honor for me, as I stand here in disbelief, trying to figure out how a small-time guy from Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island, can be standing here today, in what could be termed as a pinnacle of horse racing for me,” said the trainer.

World champion trotting mare Bee A Magician (3, 1:51.0m; $4,055,865) was inducted for her racing achievements. The daughter of Kadabra—Beehive was previously honored as O’Brien 2-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year (2012); Dan Patch and O’Brien Horse of the Year, Dan Patch Trotter of the Year, Dan Patch and O’Brien 3-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year (2013); Dan Patch and O’Brien Older Trotting Mare of the Year (2015). She won 45 of 72 career starts.

Trained by Richard “Nifty” Norman throughout her racing days, Bee A Magician retired in 2016 as the richest-ever Canadian-sired female racehorse and richest trotter to race exclusively in North America. She is owned by Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, ON; Herb Liverman of Miami Beach, FL; and David McDuffee of Delray Beach, FL. Rick Zeron, the mare’s primary Canadian driver, accepted her stall plate and award.

Spencer interviewed a tearful Zeron onstage.

“Nifty Norman… called me and asked me, ‘Would you go drive this filly at Kawartha Downs?’” Zeron said. “Someone else was supposed to drive her. I was never supposed to drive Bee A Magician.”

Zeron recalled the advice he got from Norman before the filly’s maiden win, in Ontario Sires Stakes Gold action: “’I don’t want you to race her on top, and I don’t want you to be first-over challenging to go on top. I just want you to give her a good race and let her trot coming for home.’ She was like a Porsche.”

Dr. Moira Gunn was inducted as a standardbred builder for her achievements as a pioneering reproductive veterinarian, farm manager, industry leader, and breeder. Her son Duncan Colterjohn joined Gunn on stage, as her Hall of Fame ring was presented by Dr. John Hayes.

Gunn told banquet attendees how she grew up with horses on her grandmother’s croft in rural Scotland. “One of the humble things about that farm… There was one horse, and it was a massive, shaggy Clyde, and it was the heart of the farm… I think that horse gave me my passion for horses, and it never left me,” she said, breaking into tears in mid-sentence.

“You never get here alone.”

She thanked Hayes for supporting her nomination, as well as her husband Marv Chantler, an extended group of friends, family, and staff. She recalled taking her son Duncan to foaling barns when he was a toddler, to wait in a stall as she helped mares and foals overnight: “Most of the time, the stall was clean!”

The veterinary innovator expressed gratitude to Dr. Glen Brown of Armstrong Brothers (Armbro) Farms for having faith in her and sharing his knowledge.

“We had a deal: Always share the driving, whether we were going to Greenwood, Mohawk, Breeders Crown, Lexington, Harrisburg…” she told the audience. “We spent a lot of time in the car.”

Gunn broke down when thanking “mentor” Bob McIntosh, the U.S. and Canadian Hall of Fame trainer who died on July 28. The room filled with applause.

“It’s quite an honor to join [Dr.] Mike [Colterjohn] in the Hall of Fame tonight,” she continued, acknowledging her late husband, inducted in 2016 as a thoroughbred builder. “So now my son comes from parents who are double Hall of Famers.”

Linda Rainey is CHRHOF managing director.

“We’ve had great feedback,” she told HRU, describing the 2024 Hall of Fame celebration. “We had people there from Alberta, Kentucky, and representatives from everywhere from British Columbia to PEI.”

Rainey said that cross-country representation was particularly strong this year. Although nominations frequently focus on Ontario horses and horsepeople.

“It depends on the class in every given year,” she said. “Given the weight of the Ontario industry, sometimes it seems they do dominate.”

Rainey added it was never too early to consider nominations for 2025.

“We will be confirming details at our board meeting in October,” she said.

The CHRHOF is currently conducting a unique online fundraising auction offering nine racing experiences.

“This is the first year we’ve done a one like this…” Rainey said. “We were so thrilled by standardbred and thoroughbred donors from across North America.”

The fundraiser runs until Aug. 12.

Rainey said she was “definitely pleased” by this year’s CHRHOF induction night. She said highlights included “having both breeds in the room at the same time, both so well represented, which is a big deal and always exciting.”

Over the 48-year history of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, currently located inside the Woodbine Racetrack grandstand, there is one constant. Rainey said there are always “really heartfelt and appreciative responses, which really makes us realize how much it means to the inductees that they have been included in the Hall of Fame.”