Trainer Doug McIntosh has confirmed with Trot Insider that Yankee Paco, the first Canadian-sired horse to win the Hambletonian, had to be humanely euthanized Tuesday, August 21 Down Under at Empire Stallions in Victoria at the age of 15.
From 25 career starts, the Yankeeland Farms-bred and Ivey Pharm Stable-owned Yankee Paco 3,1:53.2 ($1,486,197) recorded 14 wins, three second-place finishes and a third-place effort for McIntosh and driver Trevor Ritchie.
"He had an ongoing stifle joint problem that just got worse and worse and worse," McIntosh told Trot Insider. "He was having trouble getting up and was in a lot of pain. The situation just got worse, and I got a call last night from David James with Empire Stallions down in Australia. Dr. Tom Ivey (one of Yankee Paco's co-owners), David and I made the decision to euthanize him. It was a tough decision, but it was the best thing for him."
Although it is overseen by some, Yankee Paco had a solid freshman campaign in 1999, when the son of Balanced Image--Yankee Playgirl trotted to a 4-1-1 record from nine races. He took a mark of 1:58 and banked $124,776 in his juvenile campaign, notching notable victories in the Ontario Sires Stakes and in the Canadian Breeders Championships.
The chestnut horse with the heart of a champion springboarded from his freshman campaign to buzz the harness racing world at three in 2000. A nine-race win streak, highlighted by monumental wins in the Hambletonian, The Canadian Trotting Classic, the American-National and a 1:53.3 effort during Grand Circuit action at the Red Mile, kept his growing fan base captivated. After being retired to stud after his three-year-old campaign, Yankee Paco earned Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year and Horse of the Year honours in Canada.
2000 Hambletonian - Yankee Paco - 1:53.2
"He meant a lot to me," McIntosh told Trot Insider. "I believe that the Hambletonian is still the greatest race in harness racing. He was a horse that allowed me to be there and be part of it, and he was a horse that allowed me to win it. It's an honour to have Yankee Paco up there on that wall, and it is an honour for me to be up there on that wall with him.
"He was just a good horse that captured the hearts of Canadians. He was the first Canadian-sired horse to win the Hambletonian, which was obviously huge, but he really had quite a big fan base that just grew and grew. There were tons of people that followed every one of his races --- he really grew on people."
When asked to reflect, Ritchie, who has piloted some of the greatest trotters to ever look through a bridle, explained just how important a horse Yankee Paco was, not just to him as a driver, but to the history of Canadian harness racing.
"It's just a sad day," Ritchie said. "Whenever you have a horse that goes behind the gate and gives you 100 per cent every time the way he did, it is a sad day when you have to see them go.
"Anyone that gets into this industry has the dream of winning the Hambletonian. It is flat-out just a special, special race. Winning the Hambletonian with him is, so far in my career, my proudest moment.
"When you consider what this horse did --- being the first Canadian-sired horse to win the Hambletonian --- that right there, regardless of all the other tremendous things he did, should warrant him being in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
"He's a horse that had his issues. At times he wasn't the soundest horse, and that was apparent in his post parades, but he just loved going forward. He had an unbelievable desire to race, win, and just beat all of his competition. When the gate would leave, he would forget any issue that he may have had, and he just went out there and wanted to win, and he did because he was truly special."
Please join SC in offering condolences to the connections of Yankee Paco.