Bill Galvin Racing Alliance launched

A group of Ontario harness racing enthusiasts who were friends and associates of the late Bill Galvin, have formed a Not-For-Profit organization to promote Ontario harness racing in the Hall of Famer’s honour.

The Bill Galvin Racing Alliance (BGRA) includes founder and director Karen Hauver, along with four other volunteer directors, Brenda Lothmann, Jane Belore, Ken Middleton and Kathy Wade Vlaar.

The mission of the BGRA is to work together to create and encourage partnerships and programs that will promote and grow harness racing by engaging the general public with the racing community.

“To achieve this, we hope to introduce both youth and adults to the numerous opportunities and career options offered throughout the industry,” said director Jane Belore.

Each member of the group had a relationship with Galvin, who made a tremendous impact on horse racing in the country.  The native of Arnprior, Ont., was part of just the second class to be inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame’s Communicator category.

For 2023, the BGRA is coordinating four creative horse-themed contests for youth – a Literary Derby, Art Derby, Photography Derby and Video Derby. Details of the contests, an expansion of the 2018 Youth Literary Derby, coordinated by Galvin, are available on the website.

The initial Youth Literary Derby was designed to encourage writing and literacy skills and to reach out to horse loving kids in Ontario elementary schools.

In keeping with Galvin’s vision, the four contests will challenge the educational system to draw the attention of today’s youth to learn about and interact with horses, which are considered nature in one of its finest forms.  The organization will create opportunities to connect young people to the equine world by showcasing these athletes.

“I had the pleasure of working alongside Bill on the 2018 Youth Literary Derby and I can’t begin to describe how passionate he was about promoting harness racing and connecting people with horses,” said Karen Hauver. “The idea to form the group actually came from my late sister, Barb Lennox who passed away last June.

We were bouncing around ideas to honor Bill and also promote harness racing, which has been a major part of our Waples family history. She suggested that we create a group in Bill’s honour that could continue his legacy of making a difference in the industry. We then called upon some other harness racing enthusiasts that have varying skill sets and areas of expertise and also had a connection to Bill. And, fortunately for us, they were more than happy to volunteer their time.”

About Bill Galvin

The late Bill Galvin, a native of Arnprior, Ont., had a tremendous impact on Canadian horse racing as a historian, poet, author, publisher, educator, horseman, humanitarian, and publicist.  He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2014. His promotions transcended racing. He led a charge to bring ice racing to the Rideau Canal and expose the sport to thousands of potential fans.  He also initiated the Races for MS Fundraiser and numerous other high-profile campaigns dedicated to promoting horse racing during his career in the publicity department of the Ontario Jockey Club.

Galvin continued his promotion of the sport well into his 80’s. In recent years he established ‘The Stable That God Loves’ as a fundraiser for the Standardbred Racetrack Chaplaincy of Canada. He also delved into Standardbred racehorse ownership, co-owning 2020 two-year-old homebred Shes A Sassy Beach with Woodbine Mohawk Park track announcer, Ken Middleton.

Always driven to connect youth with the equine industry, Bill conducted several equine poetry and art competitions for grade school children. One of which was the Youth Literary Derby in 2018, by which he exposed hundreds of Ontario elementary school children and their parents to Standardbreds at Open House events at breeding farms throughout the province.

Bill’s sense of family and loyalty extended into many loving and deep friendships which he cherished. He was loved and respected for his many contributions and accomplishments in the horse racing world. Throughout his life, Bill continuously sought ways to help others and he strongly believed in the healing, friendship and comfort of horses, a love and passion shared with all he met.

Galvin passed away on September 24, 2020, at the age of 89. Bill is survived by his sister, Cathy Wallace, who resides in Ottawa.

From the Bill Galvin Racing Alliance