Joe Foley, 72, passed away peacefully in a nursing home the week before Christmas after several months of suffering from dementia.
He started in the business working as a groom in Montreal at the old Blue Bonnets in 1960 for top veteran trotting horseman Percy Robillard. He became a trainer in Percy's stable, before going out on his own as a driver/trainer in the late 1960s.
Foley had a small stable which started at Blue Bonnets before racing successfully at Windsor in the Joe DeFrank days. He moved his stable to the Meadowlands in the mid 1970s.
One of his career highlights came in the late 1970s when he cared for and trained the great trotter Glencoe Pride, who Percy had sent to the Meadowlands. Glencoe Pride dominated the Open Trot class, winning six in a row, with John Campbell doing the driving.
Foley trained horses until the late 1990s and then worked with the track maintenance crew at the Meadowlands until dementia began to set in six years ago.
He is survived by his wife, Linda, who lives in New Jersey; and eight brothers and sisters who live in Canada.
A private service was held soon after his passing, and his Canadian family will be holding a memorial service in his memory in the spring.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Joe Foley.
Note to Ron... Good to see
Note to Ron... Good to see your comments. I remember you and Joe as a team at Blue Bonnets.
You don't see those kind of "teams" these days. Remembering Joe for his gifts... monetary and helping you get a license... adds greatly to his memory. His wife Linda will love your comments.
Knew Joe for his whole
Knew Joe for his whole career, a good horseman and a standup guy. My condolences to the family, rest easy old friend.
Sad to hear. I have fond
Sad to hear. I have fond memories of eating Chalet BBQ with Joe on the Blue Bonnets backstretch. One of the good guys.
Some of the best years of my
Some of the best years of my life were those I worked for the Joe Foley Stable. 1970-1972. The small outfit was mostly Joe and I with six or seven horses. Blue Bonnets was home but during the thoroughbred meet we were off to other tracks like Richelieu, Rideau Carleton, Greenwood, Mohawk, Garden City, Orangeville, Windsor. On a few of the dark nights there were road trips to places like Toledo Park, Woolverine, Buffalo, Batavia. Every day and night a new adventure. We both loved the action. As well as having all the fun and enjoyment away from from work I was learning new skills having been given more responsibility and allowed a greater hand in the training. One Christmas I was given a beautiful engraved split hand stopwatch by Joe. A gesture beyond simple appreciation. He gave me all of the horses that I needed to qualify for a drivers license. I won my first race as a driver at Orangeville Raceway wearing his borrowed blue and white colors. A natural horseman content with basic comforts and possessions willing to share whatever he had. Honest, trustworthy and forgiving. That is how I will always remember Joe Foley.
I knew Joe since he worked
I knew Joe since he worked for Percy. He was a fine man and a good horseman.
My deepest sympathies to his wife, sisters and brothers.
Until Ron (below) mentioned ,
Until Ron (below) mentioned , I had forgotten how much Joe loved the Chalet BarB Q chicken. Some people teased him , calling him "chicken Joe". I remember the young redheaded boy who came down from Aylmer Quebec to start grooming for Percy Robillard. He was always watching Percy shoe a horse, and asking lots of questions. But my best memory comes from December of 2010. I had been visiting Percy in a nursing home monthly, for almost 2 years....and heard him lament that he seen /heard from very few people. I sent out 5 letters to people who had known him well , and asked if they could drop Percy a note for Christmas, his 89th.
I recall visiting Percy that December Saturday and seeing a big smile on his face.....saying "you will never guess who wrote me"......I played dumb......I knew John Campbell would not let me down ..... ( he didn't......with a 4 page letter complimenting Percy on the great trotters he had developed, that he , John got to drive) ..... but he then showed me the letter that Joe had written to him , thanking Percy for all he learned from him as a young horseman, with a photo, showing Percy how he had aged. Percy was pleasantly surprised by both letters....his only non-family Christmas greetings. ........on his last Christmas..as he died 8 months later
I remember Joe from Blue
I remember Joe from Blue Bonnets, he was always a quiet type of a person and kept to himself a lot. One thing for sure is that he loved BBQ Chicken Chalet! Condolences to the family. R.I.P. Joe.
My condolences to Joe's
My condolences to Joe's family. RIP