Turning tragedy into hope

The value of a horse cannot be measured in starts or stats, in purses or wins, but in the impact they have on a person. For Jim Wilson and his son, Allan, their stable of horses meant the world to them. On Wednesday, Dec. 4, a fire of unknown cause devastated that stable, claiming the lives of ten harness racing horses as well as a large brood of hens and 13 cows.

“I don’t have an individual story for each [horse], but I can say that for my dad it’s crushing. He loved them all,” Alan Wilson said. “He’s kind of that underdog guy. We bought a bunch of horses that were all underdog, like horses that people have given up on. You see the harness rescues, we could have been them. It was just the love of the horses and bringing them back and looking after them. It’s just his personality and it was always a pleasure to be around them.”

Based out of Ontario, Jim Wilson has 111 career wins and over $400,000 made with his main track as Flamboro Downs in addition to racing at Hanover Raceway, Western Fair Raceway, Clinton Raceway, and Grand River Raceway. He also had a brief stint as a driver in the late 70s to early 80s with 34 wins. His son, Alan, is a lifelong horsemen with memories of the stable dating back to childhood. He also drove until the age of 25 with 924 wins.

“Our approach to the horses was one of love more than anything. All of the horses were equally loved. We liked them all. I think we had the sweetest barn of horses I’ve ever seen. Even though they weren’t champions on the racetrack, my dad’s got a real love for the sport.”

Their farm is located just west of Orangeville in Melancthon, Ontario. Ten standardbreds were inside the barn at the time of the fire with two broodmares in foal.

Fear The Captain was a four-year-old son of Fear The Dragon and the Captaintreacherous mare Femme De American. He had three wins, three seconds, and two thirds in his 23-start career with $21,238 made and a mark of 1:56.4 taken at Western Fair Raceway. He was owned by Jim Wilson. He loved scratches and pets. He would put his head down low to allow Alan to wrap his arms around his muzzle. His last race was in early September of this year.

What Have I Done was a sophomore son of Muscle Mass and the Trainforthefuture mare Rose Run Oriana. Owned by Jim Wilson and unraced as a freshman, he had one win and two thirds in 17 career starts with $7,680 earned and a mark of 2:00.3 at Grand River. He was bought as a yearling by Wilson and trained under William Budd until October when Jim Wilson took over conditioning the colt. His last start came on Nov. 23.

“He loved the cats,” Wilson said.

Highland Beach Boy was a recent addition to the Wilson Stable.

“My dad bought him for $2,500,” Wilson said. “He had actually just come back from the vets. He was a big horse to work on lameness so he bought the horse for $2,500, worked on him and just had clear bill of health at the vet so he was excited about that.”

Owned by Jim Wilson, the nine-year-old gelding was a son of Somebeachsomewhere and the Rocknroll Hanover mare Rockn Highland. He had 150 career starts with a record of 26-19-27 and $295,598 earned. He took his mark of 1:50.3 at Harrah’s Philadelphia at the age of three.

Road Runner Colony, a 12-year-old son of Art Colony and the Big Towner mare Sweetie Gonzalez, was owned by Trevor John Janke. He had a career tally of 25-25-44 and $146,722 earned from 267 starts. At the age of seven, he recorded his lifetime mark of 1:54 at Rideau Carleton Raceway.

“He wasn’t a lot of stock, but he was fun to race for my sister as she owned him,” Wilson said. “Roadies last win had a lot of excitement.”

Hurricane Watch was a three-year-old daughter of Hes Watching and the Bettors Delight mare Hurricane Irene owned by Jim Wilson. She had eight starts in her career and was still figuring out the ins and outs of racing.

“We had a couple two-year-olds going well, too.”

Shine On Houligan was an unraced two-year-old bay filly by Rose Run Hooligan and out of the Windsong Espoir mare Windsong Chance. She was owned by Jim Wilson and bred by Gail Butler.

“She was a gorgeous horse,” Wilson said. “And she loved carrots.”

Wicked Royal, a two-year-old gelded son of McWicked and the Western Ideal mare Crown Apple, was owned by Jim Wilson and raced just two starts in his brief career in October. Wilson had just purchased the gelding in early November.

“Both broodmares were in foal to Control The Moment.”

Owned by Alan Wilson, My American Tallia was a 13-year-old daughter of American Ideal and the Arts Conquest mare Bolero Tallia. She had a record of 2-6-3 in 27 starts with $37,167. She last raced in 2015 at Pompano Park before retiring as a broodmare. She foaled four horses including Privilege [148: 35-24-18; $119,196] by Sunshine Beach, So Fia Lolita [54: 8-12-9; $86,505] by So Surreal, The Hunt Is On [73: 17-12-10; $118,899] by Huntsville, and yearling colt Honky Tonkin About by Cattlewash.

“She was a good broodmare,” Wilson added.

The Double Deuce was purchased out of the Harrisburg Sale in 2023 by Alan Wilson. The daughter of Captaintreacherous and the Western Hanover mare Limestone Cowgirl last raced in 2021 with a lifetime record of 2-2-1 in 14 starts and $22,379 earned to go along with a career best 1:53.1 at The Meadowlands. She foaled three colts and was in foal to another. Her son, Hair Of The Dog, was by her side at the time of the fire.

Also owned by Alan, Hair Of The Dog was a foal by Lazarus N born in June of this year.

“All the horses we had – we didn’t win a lot of races. We just went because we liked racing horses,” Wilson said. “They were all just pets. We just loved them.”

Their farm comprised of all kinds of animals with the loss extending to the cows and hens in addition to the 10 standardbreds and two unborn foals.

“My dad’s an old-time farmer type guy and we had the ten racehorses, we have peacocks and chickens and goats and dogs. My dad’s an Irish farmer and that’s the way it is. He would find something and we’d look after them. It was the way it was. It was the way we were raised as kids. The horses were always our fun. They always had a special place in our heart and represented the same place. Our family loves it.

“It’s very tough now. Tough to sleep,” Wilson added.

“My dad is one of those guys where there are fewer in the business,” Wilson explained. “I had a guy call me and say, ‘ I’ve never seen a team of people look after horses’ – like our horse would finish last – and they’d come off that track and we’d be rubbing them down with alcohol and he said ‘I’ve never seen a bunch of people like that. We’d say, ‘well it’s not his fault. It’s our fault if he’s not prepared.

“A guy called yesterday and said when he died he always wanted to go and become a horse in my dad’s farm,” Wilson continued. “They were pets.”

Despite a monumental loss and facing the devastating impact, the Wilsons are the shining light in a dark time. Instead of asking for donations for their loss, they have asked for donations to the Foodbank of Shelburne.

“I volunteer at the Foodbank and I’ve mentioned, my dad is kind of the underdog whether it be horses or anything else, he’s that guy. When I asked him, ‘what do you want to do?’ because people had asked where to donate, he said, ‘let’s give it on to someone who might not have a good Christmas or might not have a good start to the New Year.’ So, he said, ‘let’s give to the Foodbank. He’ll never recoup his losses. He’s not independently wealthy and he’s not a billionaire or anything, but what he is is a simple man.

“He said he’ll never replace the horses he lost so he doesn’t want the money to replace them and he wants the money to go somewhere where it’ll do good. And that’s where I volunteer because it’s good to give back. That’s his approach. He just wanted to give back. The way he said it was, ‘it’s gotta do somebody some good. I don’t understand the good in it today’ because he has always said, ‘life happens for you, not to you.’ He said, ‘I haven’t figured out what the blessing is, but maybe the blessing is for the foodbank or somebody else to have some success.’”

The Wilsons are hoping to turn their tragedy into a positive movement for others.

“My dad is a special kind of guy because of who he is. He loves his horses. Loves them.”

Going forward, they are hoping to rebuild, though they know they will never get back what they had. The horses cannot be replaced.

“We still have one colt that was out at a trainer. We’re rebuilding. We’re going to try to put it all back together at least somewhat. We’ll never replace the horses ever. For us, we’re just going to try to rebuild. I retired to do this with him so it’s kind of a team approach and always has been,” Wilson concluded.

The impact of the horses on the lives of the Wilsons extends deep and wide and will now ripple to impact the lives of those helped by the Shelburne Food Bank.

To donate to the Shelburne Food Bank, known as Shepherds Food Bank, an email can be sent to shelburnefoodbank@gmail.com with Jim Wilson in the subject line. Tax receipts are available if a check is mailed to Trinity Primrose United, 200 Owen Sound St., Shelburne, Ont. L0N 1S3 and add Shepherds Foodbank / Jim Wilson in the memo.

by Jessica Hallett