Eight harness greats enter Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (CHRHF) Induction Gala took place this evening (Wednesday, Aug. 9) at the Mississauga Convention Centre, honouring the Classes of 2022 and 2023, including some of the biggest names in Canadian Standardbred racing.

The CHRHF Class of 2022 includes Jack Darling (Standardbred Trainer), Gilles Gendron (Standardbred Veteran), Frank Salive (Standardbred Communicator), and Shadow Play (Standardbred Male Horse).

The CHRHF Class of 2023 includes Chris Christoforou (Driver), Dr. Lloyd S. McKibbin, DVM (Standardbred Builder), Bulldog Hanover (Standardbred Male Horse), and Pure Ivory (Standardbred Female Horse).

The following is a closer look at the careers of the new Hall of Famers with reaction from Wednesday’s induction ceremonies.

​Dr. Lloyd S. McKibbin, DVM – Standardbred Builder

The late Dr. Lloyd Salem McKibbin, DVM is considered a pioneer in the advancement of equine veterinary medicine. He was an innovator, teacher and author as well as a very hands-on veterinarian. A graduate of Ontario Veterinary College in 1952, Dr. McKibbin, decided to specialize in equine care, and more specifically lameness, treated patients with acupuncture, cryosurgery and laser therapy. He was also among the very first people to advocate swimming horses for therapeutic purposes. Horse owners travelled from far and wide to his small, unassuming clinic in Wheatley, Ont. for treatment using the ground-breaking methods he employed, all the while acting in the best interest of his equine patients.

Among the numerous horses aided by Dr. McKibbin was CHRHF 2020 Inductee Rambling Willie, who spent time under “Doc’s” care. It was the relationship Rambling Willie’s owners had with Dr. McKibbin that provided the opportunity for the much-lauded horse to race in Canada and become a three-time winner of the Canadian Pacing Derby.

“Doc” also spent considerable time mentoring other veterinarians to follow in his path, many of whom went on to open their own successful practices. His books, Horse Owners Handbook and Cryoanalgesia for Horses, continue to be used as reference manuals.

In recognition of his work, Dr. McKibbin was inducted to the Chatham-Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1989.

Dr. Lloyd McKibbin’s son, Terry McKibbin, accepted the award in his honour. “It’s a great honour. The Hall Of Fame is something that you never start out to achieve. You achieve it by doing something good for somebody and others,” Terry McKibbin said.

“Dad enjoyed teaching. That was his place on Earth was to teach things. He wanted people to understand what he was doing and what their horses were doing,” T. McKibbin continued. “He always wanted to help the horse and help the people to get a better life out of what they were dealt with.”

Chris Christoforou – Driver

Chris Christoforou has been driving Standardbred horses for 33 consecutive years, beginning in 1990 and continuing until the present time. The opportunity to pilot his family’s homebred trotter, Earl, brought Christoforou into the spotlight early in his driving career, and that family connection to harness racing continues to this day. In 1993, at the age of 21, Christoforou became the second youngest driver to win a prestigious Breeders Crown race when he and Earl captured the Open Trot division at Mohawk.

Among the many other horses Christoforou achieved major stakes success with include Grinfromeartoear (1999 Breeders Crown), CHRHF Member Astreos (2000 Little Brown Jug), as well as CHRHF Member Peaceful Way (2003 Goldsmith Maid, 2003 Oakville Stakes). He has also visited the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final winner’s circle 10 times.

Over his career, Christoforou’s driving stats have reached 6,758 career wins, nearly $119 million in purse earnings and a .260 UDRS lifetime rating, and he has been presented the O’Brien Award as Canada’s Driver of the Year on four occasions.

“My whole life I waited for this,” Christoforou said. “When my parents first started in this business, my father bought a horse he couldn’t afford, a race bike and a jog cart. And 50 years later, here I am. I owe everything to my family – my wife Camilla, my kids – I wouldn’t be here without them and so many people in this room. It’s just overwhelming.

“When I was a kid, people in my school wanted to be Wayne Gretzky, they wanted to win a Stanley Cup, but honestly, and I say this with sincere honesty, my goal was to be here. I am truly thankful to the Hall Of Fame for this induction. My family is truly grateful. This is one of the greatest moments of my life.”

Bulldog Hanover – Standardbred Male Horse

Sired by 2022 CHRHF Inductee Shadow Play out of Artsplace mare BJs Squall, Bulldog Hanover was purchased by CHRHF 2022 Trainer Inductee Jack Darling for $28,000 at the 2019 Harrisburg Black Book Sale.  He began his race career at age two, winning four of six starts, including the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final, with Jody Jamieson as his primary driver. Before the beginning of his three-year-old season, Brad Grant was added to his ownership as a partner.

At three, Bulldog Hanover continued to impress with three Ontario Sires Stakes Gold leg wins. He stepped into Grand Circuit competition with wins in the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes and a North America Cup elimination, again with Jamieson at the lines, before rounding out his sophomore year with four consecutive wins at Hoosier Park in the Monument Circle, the Star Destroyer Pace, the Circle City Pace and the Thanksgiving Classic, just a glimpse of what was to come.

During his 2022 campaign, Bulldog Hanover won four straight races in a 21-day period, at The Meadowlands, winning a Graduate leg in 1:47, the Roll With Joe in 1:46, the Graduate final in 1:46.1 and the William R. Haughton Memorial in a world record time of 1:45.4, all with Dexter Dunn in the bike. It was those 21 days from June 25 to July 16 that captured the world’s attention and catapulted Bulldog Hanover to a new status, as he became the fastest pacer of all time en route to Horse of the Year honours in Canada and unanimous Horse of the Year honours in the U.S.

When he retired from racing at the end of 2022, Bulldog Hanover’s lifetime stats included a record of 28-4-1 in 37 starts and earnings of $2,789,271. Before starting his 2022 campaign, Bulldog Hanover bred a limited number of mares, with his first foals beginning to arrive as their sire enters the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Bulldog Hanover continues his breeding career at Seelster Farms.

When asked about a standout moment in Bulldog Hanover’s career, co-owner Brad Grant said, “There’s a lot of things. One of the things, his races were phenomenal, and his career has been phenomenal. But I think one of the things you learn when you have a horse like Bulldog Hanover is how he’s received by everybody. And Jack and Johnny, his caretaker, they never let anybody not see this horse.

“Everywhere he went, there were lineups of people to see him, The Bulldog,” Grant continued. “The Bulldog, that’s all you heard. And they gave the world every opportunity to see this horse. The races are great, but the response from the people, from the ordinary people, the bettors, just people that wanted to see The Bulldog because they had heard about him – I think that was a highlight as any.”

Pure Ivory – Standardbred Female Horse

Trotting mare Pure Ivory, by Striking Sahbra, has been successful both on the racetrack and as a broodmare. Bred by Diane Ingham and the late Harry Rutherford of Mount Pleasant, Ont., and owned throughout her racing career by Jerry Van Boekel, Christina Maxwell, Steve Condren and Rutherford, Pure Ivory’s racing stats include earnings of $1.44 million and a lifetime mark of 1:53.1. Trained by Brad Maxwell, the two-time O’Brien Award recipient (2005 & 2006) won 22 stakes races during her career, including Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals at age two and three, the Canadian Breeders Championship, and divisions of the Simcoe and Champlain Stakes.

Currently a broodmare owned by Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky, Pure Ivory produced the 2019 Hambletonian champion, Forbidden Trade, who was a divisional O’Brien Award winner at two and three, Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2019, and amassed career earnings in excess of $2.3 million.

“Pure Ivory is truly Canadian,” Steve Condren said. “She lives in Kentucky now, but she’s truly Canadian. When she finally got bred to Kadabra, she produced the Hambletonian winner, our Kentucky Derby of our business, and she continues to do well for Cindy and I, that’s for sure. This award is a real honour and I just want to thank the Hall Of Fame for this wonderful honour. She’s very well deserving.”

​Frank Salive – Standardbred Communicator

Originally from Leamington, Ont., Frank Salive was known for over 35 years as “The Voice” of Canadian harness racing.  Before moving to the announcer’s booth, Salive was a successful junior hockey player as part of the Peterborough Petes and also participated in the very first World Junior Championships when the Petes represented Canada in the 1974 tournament held in the Soviet Union. Canada earned the bronze medal and Salive was named the top goaltender of the tournament.  He then moved on to a broadcasting career, which included assignments in Sudbury and Windsor, where he began to call harness races in the late 1970’s.

He continued at tracks throughout Ontario and the US, including 14 years at Ontario Jockey Club/Woodbine Entertainment Group harness tracks as well as at Pompano Park, Western Fair Raceway, Clinton Raceway and Fort Erie Racetrack before his most recent role as the voice of Ocean Downs in Maryland.  During his career it is estimated Salive has called close to 200,000 races at an estimated 75 different tracks, becoming a fan and industry favourite for his knowledgeable, informative calls and silky voice.   Salive was also a regular writer for the Canadian Sportsman for several years.

“As a direct result of the excellence and exposure from Canadian harness racing, I got to work close to 25% of my career in the United States at tracks like Batavia Downs, Tioga Downs, and Pompano Park,” Salive said. “I did most of the meet one time at the old Calder Racecourse before it was permanently closed and as recently as last year, at Ocean Downs in Maryland. And the common denominator with my Canadian coworkers and the Americans was they all treated me so well and made me feel so welcome and so much a part of the team.”

Salive described one of his most emotional moments from in the press box as in the 2003 North America Cup. “It was very emotional because the winning co-owner/trainer Tim Pinske had just lost his son Brian before that race. He told me at the post-race reception that him and his wife were right under a speaker at Woodbine, and they dove into each other’s arms weeping because my call included Brian coming to the wire. And I thought that really reinforces the power of our words as race announcers of the modern era.”

Shadow Play – Standardbred Male Horse

Shadow Play earned $1,559,822 with 20 wins, nine seconds and five thirds in 49 lifetime starts, and took a record of 1:47.4 as a four-year-old.   The son of The Panderosa out of the Matts Scooter mare Matts Filly, Shadow Play was purchased as a yearling, trained and co-owned by Dr. Ian Moore along with R G McGroup Ltd. and Serge Savard for most of his racing career.  His race career highlights include winning the 2008 Little Brown Jug and setting a world record for three-year-old colt and gelding pacers on a 5/8-mile track, of 1:48.2 in the elimination of the Coors Delvin Miller Adios.

As a sire standing at Winbak Farm of Canada, in partnership with Blue Chip Farms, and owned by the Shadow Play Syndicate, Shadow Play has sired six millionaires, including the fastest Standardbred in harness racing history, Bulldog Hanover (1.45.4) with earnings to date of nearly $2.2 million; three-time O’Brien Award winner and double millionaire Lady Shadow; 2021 Horse of the Year and North America Cup winner, Desperate Man; and O’Brien divisional winner, Percy Bluechip.  In total, Shadow Play-sired horses have earned $56 million.  Twenty horses sired by Shadow Play have records of 1:50 or better.

When asked to give three words that best describe Shadow Play, trainer and co-owner Dr. Ian Moore said, “Tough, determined, and for all of us and for all of our families and everybody who has been associated with him – unforgettable.”

Jack Darling – Standardbred Trainer 

Cambridge, Ontario-based Jack Darling has enjoyed a successful career as a harness horse trainer in southern Ontario over three decades campaigning 1,072 winners and conditioning horses to over $22 million in earnings and counting. For the first two decades of his career Darling focused on overnight horses, before getting involved in the yearling business. In 1995, four fillies put Darling in the spotlight – Diamond Dawn, a winner of $175,000, Low Places (winner of a 1996 O’Brien Award), Faded Glory (winner of more than $250,000 as a freshman) and Diehard Fan (over $200,000 as a two and three-year-old).

Other top horses included Northern Luck ($907,984), North America Cup Champion Gothic Dream ($1,528,671) and Twin B Champ ($437,235).  Darling’s latest protégé, Bulldog Hanover, recently set a new world record of 1:45.4 to become the fastest horse in harness racing history and has to date earned nearly $2.2 million.  Darling is also known for significant fundraising efforts on behalf of racing related causes and was the 2015 winner of the Lloyd Chisholm Memorial Award, presented by the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario, the United States Harness Writers Association Unsung Hero Award, and the Good Guy Award.

“When I was a little boy, I’d be asked by my parents, ‘Jack, what do you want to be when you grow up?’ And my answer would always be the same, ‘ I don’t know what I want to do, but I want to do something that I like doing.’ And of course, I had no idea what that would be,” Darling said. “But, when I went to the racetrack for the first time and discovered harness racing, my dream came true, and I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have been able to make a living doing something that I love.

“My thoughts always go back to my early days racing at Western Fair Raceway in London and how exciting it was just to be a part of it. Back then, I never would have dreamed that I’d be racing in big stakes like the Little Brown Jug, North America Cup, or Breeders Crown. And for sure, I never imagined having a horse like Bulldog Hanover,” Darling continued. “But as exciting as it has been racing in all of those classic races, it was just as exciting for me back when I was racing and driving my raceway horses in those early years. I just love the good old days.

“This is a tremendous honour for me, very humbling and I really can’t express how much it means to me and my family.”

Gilles Gendron – Standardbred Veteran

Gilles Gendron of Saint-Eustache, Quebec, started his illustrious driving career in the spring of 1967 at the age of 22.  During his career, he drove in more than 37,000 races, posted 7,053 victories, finished second in 5,008 starts and recorded 4,819 thirds.   He drove horses to earnings in excess of $36.9 million.  Gendron was the dominant driver at Blue Bonnets racetrack during the 1970s and 1980s.

At age 27 in 1972, Gendron won the Challenge of Champions hosted by Windsor Raceway, defeating the likes of Herve Filion, Ronnie Feagan and Carmine Abbatiello.  Nicknamed “Le Chef”, he dominated the Blue Bonnets driving charts, leading the driving standings 10 times between 1972 and 1984.  For 14 consecutive years, he won more than 200 races and ranked in the North American top 10 seven times. Among the equine stars he drove were Hall of Famers Grades Singing and Garland Lobell.  In 2009, he drove a pair of winners at Rideau Carleton to put him at 7,000 career wins to join Quebec natives Herve Filion, Michel Lachance and Luc Ouellette in the select group of North American drivers who had posted 7,000 career wins.

“You know if you’re in the Hall of Fame because you’re lucky, you’ve got to be good. You’re good because you drive some good horses for good trainers and good grooms,” Gendron said. “We pass our lives in the paddock, farm, and the racetrack. It’s a lot of hours.”

 For additional information about the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, visit horseracinghalloffame.com.

From the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame