As the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (CHRHF) proudly celebrates its 50th Anniversary, the Nomination Committees of the organization have determined the induction categories to be recognized in 2026, along with the finalists for each category. 

The individual receiving the most votes in each category from the members of the Election Committee will be named a 2026 inductee. A total of the 14 individuals, people and horses, will be inducted as part of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame's 50th Anniversary Class. This list of 2026 inductees will be announced on April 8.

The Standardbred categories selected for induction in 2026 include: Builder, Driver, Trainer, Female Horse, Male Horse and Veteran Person or Horse.

The Standardbred Builder finalists are Al Libfeld, Hugh Mitchell and Dr. Maurice "Mo" Stewart.

Al Libfeld’s first exposure to horse racing came through Marvin Katz and later on they would become business partners. Libfeld made his first foray into Standardbred ownership with the purchase of the Albatross yearling Keystone Hera in 1988 with Katz. From that point on, the successful homebuilder, whose Tribute Communities is one of the most prominent in Ontario, was hooked, focusing his efforts on breeding and owning primarily trotters. In addition to his partnership with Katz, Libfeld has bred and owned a number of horses on his own, or with partners including Dan Patch and O’Brien Award winner Ariana G ($2,600,995; 1:50.2), O’Brien Award winner Define The World ($1,740,839; 1:51.4), his dam Venice Holiday and 2025 O’Brien Award winner Storybook Love ($687,226; 1:52.2).

From mucking stalls nearly 50 years ago to his current roles, Hugh Mitchell has summed up his connection to horse racing in four words: "I love this sport." Currently the Lead Director of Woodbine Entertainment Group and a former President and Chair of the organization, other prominent roles Mitchell has held in the racing industry include former President & CEO of Western Fair District, SVP of Racing at Woodbine Entertainment and Chair of the Board of Harness Tracks of America and Ontario Racing. Away from the racing industry, Mitchell is a former member of the Board of Governors at Fanshawe College, as well as a past Vice-Chair. Mitchell is also a past President of Tourism London and Director of both the London Chamber of Commerce and Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions. 

Dr. Maurice "Mo" Stewart, a 1974 Graduate of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, was described by Canadian Racing Hall of Fame inductee Keith Clark as a "tireless worker trying to improve Alberta racing." Further, "he is a respected veterinarian, successful breeder/owner and a relentless advocate for Alberta on the national scene." During his 35+ years of service to Canadian racing, Stewart has volunteered with numerous industry organizations on boards, committees, as a delegate and a leader in the industry to meetings, functions, galas, conferences and seminars, at the provincial, national and international level, all for the betterment of the sport.

The 2026 Standardbred Male Horse finalists include Arch Madness, Majestic Son and Marion Marauder.

From the final crop sired by Hall of Fame stallion Balanced Image, and out of Armbro Archer, two-time O’Brien Award recipient Arch Madness found racing success in Canada, the United States and Europe. During a race career that spanned from age three to nine, the gelding generated more than $4.3 million in earnings, a record that still stands for Canadian-sired trotters. Among his most notable wins at age three were the Simcoe Stakes, Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final and a Breeders Crown elimination and the final. At age four, he won the Maple Leaf Trot and finished second in the Breeders Crown, Allerage and Nat Ray. As an older trotter, trips to Europe resulted in winning the elimination and final of the Oslo Grand Prix in Norway with back-to-back runner-up finishes in Sweden’s Elitlopp.  

Majestic Son’s racing career consisted of 38 starts, including 22 wins, a mark of 1:52.2 and $1,993,157 in purse earnings. A son of Angus Hall out of the King Conch mare, Celtic Contessa, Majestic Son was trained by Mark Steacy for the Majestic Son Stable. His career was highlighted by wins in the premiere stakes for sophomore trotters including the Champlain, Goodtimes, Canadian Trotting Classic and Breeders Crown. As a sire, his North American progeny have earned $25.4 million including millionaires Charmed Life and Perfetto among six $750,000 winners, nine $500,000 winners, 31 winners of $250,000 and 66 winners of $100,000. Now standing stud in the Southern Hemisphere, Majestic Son was New Zealand’s Trotting Stallion of the Year in 2024 for the seventh season and he’s topped the charts among trotting stallions in Australia nine times. 

A son of Muscle Hill-Spellbound Hanover, Marion Marauder concluded his stellar career with $3.6 million-plus in the bank and 22 trips to the winner's circle. He won the Hambletonian, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity in 2016 to become just the ninth sophomore trotter to win trotting's Triple Crown. He also won the Goodtimes Stakes and a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial at three en route to a season in which he amassed more than $1.5 million in purses, topping the North American earnings charts for all trotters. As an older competitor, his stakes scores included the 2017 Graduate Series final and Hambletonian Maturity, and 2018 Cleveland Trotting Classic, John Cashman Memorial and Caesars Trotting Classic. Marion Marauder was the recipient of the O’Brien Award for Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt in 2016. That same year, he was also named USHWA Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt and USHWA Trotter of the Year, followed by the USHWA Aged Trotter of the Year in 2017. Marion Marauder is now a resident of the Kentucky Horse Park Hall of Champions.

Standardbred Veteran finalists include Frank Daniels, James "Roach" MacGregor and Western Dreamer.

Frank Daniels’ involvement in the Canadian horse racing industry included that of a driver, trainer, horse dealer and racing official. The Nova Scotia-born Daniels crisscrossed the Maritimes from the 1940s to the early 1970s and became the first Maritime driver to win 1,000 races. From his barn at Truro Raceway, Daniels excelled at buying, selling and swapping reportedly more than 1,000 horses. In 1968, Daniels was elected as a director of the United States Trotting Association for the Atlantic Provinces, a role he held for 33 years, 29 of which he was also that district’s Chairman. Following his racing career, Daniels was the presiding judge at Summerside Raceway in Prince Edward Island and Champlain Racetrack in Dieppe, N.B., and was appointed to the Maritime Provinces Harness Racing Commission’s Appeal Board. In 1995, he was elected to the Truro Sports Heritage Hall of Fame.

James "Roach" MacGregor began his career at Charlottetown Driving Park as a youngster, and by age 15, would be training at the local racetrack. Gradually acquiring a sizable public stable, he drove Josedale Clipper to Maritime Horse of the Year honours as a 19-year-old and soon was asked to accompany the legendary Joe O'Brien to Foxboro, Massachusetts as trainer. Considered by many as the Maritimes’ finest trainer-driver of his era, MacGregor’s list of accomplishments included winning virtually every major stakes in the Maritime region. MacGregor also set numerous stakes and track records at Quebec City, Blue Bonnets, Summerside and Sackville Downs with Bay State Pat, a horse "Roach" switched from the trot to the pace midway through the future Hall of Famer’s career. During the second season as a pacer, Bay State Pat, steered by MacGregor, visited the winner's circle following 17 consecutive dashes, setting four track records along the way.

Western Dreamer’s resume includes 27 victories and earnings of $1.8 million. In 1997, he was voted Horse of the Year in both Canada and the United States for owners Mathew, Patrick and Daniel Daly following wins in the Art Rooney Memorial Pace and the U.S. Pacing Triple Crown. The son of Western Hanover-Fits Of Fun holds the distinction of being the only gelding to win a Pacing Triple Crown. Since July 2001, he has been a resident of the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Female Horse finalists are Emilie Cas El, Put On A Show and West Of L A.

Emilie Cas El, out of Hall of Fame mare Amour Angus, is a full sister to top trotting sires Andover Hall, Angus Hall and Conway Hall. She began her race career in owner Dustin Jones’ home province of Quebec in 1994, winning all 13 of her races there and setting the Blue Bonnets track record for two-year-old trotting fillies. Her success continued in Ontario, sweeping the Canadian Breeders Championship, equalling the track record at Mohawk Raceway and being named the O’Brien Award winner for both Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly and Horse of the Year. Following a change in ownership and a move to Europe, she continued to race through age five. As a broodmare, her top earning offspring is Hambletonian winner Trixton, who earned $968,696 and set a lifetime mark 1:50.3 at age three before moving to the stallion ranks in both Canada and the U.S.  

Put On A Show, a daughter of Rocknroll Hanover, earned more than $2.4 million, with 31 wins in 50 starts. On Canadian soil during her two-year-old season, she won the Eternal Camnation Stakes as well as an elimination and final of the Shes A Great Lady, and was second in both the two-year-old filly pace elimination and final of the Breeders Crown at Woodbine Racetrack. As a broodmare, Put On A Show has produced six foals of racing age with three winners, including Pepsi North America Cup and Little Brown Jug winner Its My Show ($1,814,958; 1:46.4) and Meadowlands Pace winner Best In Show ($763,119; 1:48).

After a race career at ages two and three, during which she earned $257,150, West Of L A became a top-performing broodmare for her breeder, trainer and co-owner, CHRHF Honoured Member Robert McIntosh. Co-owned by C S X Stables and Al McIntosh Holdings Inc., this daughter of Western Hanover-Los Angeles is the dam of horses with earnings of $5.08 million, including two horses with earnings of more than $1.7 million each. Her Somebeachsomewhere son Somewhere In L A boasts $1.87 million in earnings with a lifetime mark of 1:48.4. Her daughter L A Delight, by Bettors Delight, won the O’Brien Award for Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly in 2015 and followed that up with an O’Brien Award in the Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly category in 2016. L A Delight's resume includes 26 wins in a 66-race career, a lifetime mark of 1:49.1 and earnings of $1.78 million. 

Driver finalists include Mary Clare MacDonald, Roger Mayotte and Mike Saftic.

A native of Antigonish, N.S., Mary Clare MacDonald is Canada’s winningest female harness driver in victories (1,560) and purse earnings of $5,168,241. Her stats, all achieved while racing in the Atlantic provinces, ranks her second among female drivers in North America, behind U.S. Hall of Fame member, the late Bea Farber-Erdman. A second-generation horseperson, MacDonald’s driving career began at age 17 with 19 wins in her first year. Since that time, in a career spanning over 40 years, she has surpassed $100,000 in annual earnings as a driver 26 times. Horses driven and/or trained by MacDonald have set track records at five tracks, and she also holds the honour of being the first driver to complete a sub-2:00 trotting mile in Atlantic Canada. In addition to training and driving, MacDonald has served terms as a Standardbred Canada Director and was a member of the Rules Working Group for the Atlantic Provinces Harness Racing Commission.

Roger Mayotte’s career began in the mid-1970s as a groom for horsemen such as Keith Waples and Percy Robillard. It was Robillard who provided Mayotte’s first opportunity to drive, scoring his first victory in 1977 at Greenwood Raceway. During his career, he has driven horses to 3,630 wins and earnings of $54.6 million. Top talent campaigned by Mayotte include the accomplished double millionaire Escape The Wind, Open class stars Take A Look and millionaire Cammibest, Breeders Crown champions Kingsbridge and Thatll Be Me, and O’Brien Award winner Serious Comfort. He also guided Earl to victory in the 1994 Maple Leaf Trot and Simply Ravishing to a Fan Hanover score in 1992. Mayotte has the distinction of winning both the first harness race held at Woodbine Racetrack in 1994 as well as the final harness race held at that track in April 2017.  

Mike Saftic started his harness race career as a driver in 1981 in his hometown of Sudbury, Ont. In 1985, he made the decision to move to the Ontario Jockey Club circuit and began working with Garth Gordon. His first big break came in 1989 driving Free-For-All pacer Soft Light, who would take Saftic across North America winning multiple Can-Am races, the Monctonian Pace and his first Meadowlands driving victory. Among the standout horses driven by Saftic is CHRHF inductee and Horse of the Year Ellamony, who Saftic guided to victory in the Breeders Crown. Other notable horses and victories include Metro Pace champion Sir Luck, Jugette winner Pleasure Chest and Gold Cup & Saucer winner Nuclear Flash. In 1995, he represented Canada in the International Driving Championships in Russia. Over a 40+ year career, Saftic's stats include $102 million in purse earnings.

Standardbred Trainer finalists include Doug Arthur, Fred Grant and Rod Hennessy.

Doug Arthur developed a reputation in harness racing as a “developer of champions” after taking Cam Fella, a $19,000 yearling purchase, and developing him into the Harness Horse of the Year in 1982 and 1983. The legacy of Cam Fella as a racehorse, a sire and a foundation to the Standardbred breed, relates directly to his original purchaser and developer, Doug Arthur. Over time, Arthur was deemed by his peers as an astute judge of horseflesh and being able to identify a yearling’s potential talent, spending a significant amount of time inspecting a vast number of yearlings.

Nova Scotia born, Fred Grant began his career as a caretaker in the United States, eventually becoming second trainer to Bill Haughton, where early on he was entrusted with champions Silent Majority and Handle With Care. He eventually went out on his own, working first for the Liverman family and then establishing a public stable at The Meadowlands, where he was the leading trainer in 1984. Among his other achievements reaching 500 victories at The Big M. Among the horses under his tutelage were world champion Cambest, Guts and Boomer Drummond. He continues to train a stable of two and three-year-old trotters.

As Standardbred racing started to flourish in Alberta in the mid-1970s, Rod Hennessy took responsibility of his father’s stable in 1974 and subsequently rose to the top echelons of the sport in western Canada. His record reflects a strong work ethic, extraordinary horsemanship, competitive statistics and major accomplishments as evidenced by the almost 2,300 training wins, $17.4 million in purse earnings and a .311 lifetime training average. In 2023, Hennessy trainee Shark Week became the first horse to pace a mile faster than 1:50 in western Canada with his 1:49.2 lifetime best at Century Downs. Among the accolades bestowed to him is being named the Alberta Trainer/Horseperson of the Year five times and being awarded the Ron McLeod Achievement Award in 2016 for lifetime contribution to Standardbred racing in Alberta. He has also served as a mentor to numerous trainers and drivers who have gone on to achieve their own success in the industry.

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The Thoroughbred categories selected for 2026 include Builder, Communicator, Trainer, Jockey, Male Horse and Female Horse.

The three Thoroughbred Builder finalists are John Burness, Dr. Robert McMartin, DVM and Stanley Sadinsky.

John Burness (Brnjas) has been involved in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry for over 50 years and continues to operate his Ontario-based Colebrook Farms, which is currently standing five stallions. The 350-acre facility provides complete cycle of breeding services extending to foaling out mares, weaning, breaking, boarding and state-of-the-art, on-site training facilities. His operation extends from Canada to the United States, purchasing and claiming horses. He is a co-owner of Grade 1 stakes winner Johnny Bear. In 2025, Colebrook Farms celebrated its 700th career victory.  

Dr. Robert McMartin, DVM has devoted more than four decades to the advancement of racing in Canada as a racetrack veterinarian, equine surgeon, industry leader and mentor. His career has been defined by clinical excellence, sound judgment and an unwavering commitment to the welfare and performance of the racehorse. His expertise has been sought by many of Canada’s prominent breeding and racing operations. Beyond his practice, he has made a lasting contribution to equine research and industry advancement, including as Co-Chair and Trustee of the E.P. Taylor Equine Research Fund.

Chair of the Ontario Racing Commission for nine years, Stanley Sadinsky was commissioned by the Ontario government to review and recommend industry governance, producing the "Sadinsky Report." As a key advisor during the cancellation of Slots-at-Racetrack Program, he met with politicians and advised the Board of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association on numerous issues. A retired professor at his first alma mater, Queen’s University, his extensive legal knowledge and understanding of gambling led to his current appointment as the Chair of the Accreditation Panel of the Responsible Gambling Council of Canada. Sadinsky has spoken all over Canada and the U.S. on both the horse racing and gaming industries. He has been internationally recognized for his contributions, receiving the Joan Pew Award from the Association of Racing Commissioners International in 2002 and the Distinguished Service Award from Harness Tracks of America in 2003. He continues to be the Chair of the Horse Racing Appeals Panel, a position he has held for nine years.

The three Thoroughbred Trainer finalists for voter consideration include Gerald Bennett, Dale Saunders and Laurie Silvera.

Gerald Bennett, originally from Springhill, N.S., began his training career in 1976, earning a reputation for having success with horses formerly injured or that had gone off form. He has trained horses that have earned more than $48 million USD, with 4,200 plus trips to the winner’s circle. In 2021, Bennett became the winningest Canadian-born Thoroughbred trainer of all time. Bennett may be best known for his work with the Ontario-bred Bold Ruckus horse, Beau Genius, who won the 1990 Philip Iselin (Grade 1) at Monmouth and the Michigan Mile and One-Eighth Handicap (Grade 2). Other top horses include Secret Romeo and Fast Flying Rumor. Much of his career has been spent in the U.S. and he is currently 16th for trainers in the all-time win standings.  

Alberta-based Dale Saunders began his career as a Thoroughbred trainer in the mid-1960s, racking up 2,177 wins in 12,915 starts and purse earning of more than $17.5 million. Named the E.P. Taylor Award of Merit winner by the Jockey’s Club of Canada in 2022, Saunders has been Alberta’s leading trainer a total of eight times and was named that province’s Horseperson of the Year in 2012. Some of his victories came from many of the top Thoroughbreds in Alberta racing history, including Dark Hours, Shady Remark, Highland Leader, Fair March and Mandalero, to name a few.

The late Laurie Silvera began racing on the Ontario circuit after migrating to Canada from Jamaica, and continued training until his passing at age 89. He would eventually carve out a niche as a perennial leader at the Greenwood spring meet, topping the standings three years in a row. He also established himself as having a keen eye around a sales ring, purchasing yearlings that would prove to have a high earning to purchase ratio. His career stats include more than 1,000 wins in Canada and earnings of almost $26 million. Among his stakes winners were Free At Last, November Snow, Ariana D, Solo Guy, Parisinthespring, Tusayan, Demaloot Demashoot and Hawk In Flight.  Apart from training, Silvera contributed to the racing community by serving as a Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association director in the 1990s.

The Male Horse finalists are Joshua Tree, Rahy’s Attorney and Fatal Bullet. 

Irish-bred Joshua Tree’s career statistics feature earnings of $3,851,594 in 37 starts with a record reading 7-7-4. The son of Montjeu, from the Sadler’s Wells branch of Northern Dancer’s pedigree, made three trips to Woodbine Racetrack, winning the Pattison Canadian International Stakes (Grade 1) in 2010, 2011 and 2013, making him the first, and only horse still, to win the race three times. Interestingly, his Canadian accomplishment was achieved with three different jockeys and for three different trainers:  2010 – Jockey: Colm O’Donoghue, Trainer: Aidan O’Brien; 2011 – Jockey: Frankie Dettori, Trainer: Marco Botti; and 2013 – Jockey: Ryan Moore, Trainer: Ed Dunlop. Other graded stakes wins for this world traveller include the Qatar International Invitation Cup (Grade 1) in 2011, the Judamonte Royal Lodge Stakes (Grade 2) at Ascot in 2009 and the Darley Prix Kergorly (Grade 2) in 2009.

Rahy’s Attorney was an underdog that just wouldn’t quit. The result of a $3,000 mating by a small Canadian breeder, Rahy’s Attorney defied all expectations and became one of the country’s most enduring fan favourites, all while earning $2,120,208 USD. In 2008, he landed a shocker of a victory in the Grace 1 $1 million Woodbine Mile over Kip Deville, a Breeders' Cup champion and the continent’s best miler. That win contributed to Rahy’s Attorney being named Canada’s Champion Grass Horse of 2008. In 2009, he set a course record for 1-1/8 miles, clocking in at 1:44.73, in the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. He also won the Grade 2 Nijinsky Stakes and was a three-time winner of the Bunty Lawless Stakes. In 41 starts, he won 14 races, with 10 seconds and four thirds.

Fatal Bullet, bred by Adena Springs, owned by Danny Dion's Bear Stables and trained by Hall of Fame trainer Reade Baker, was one of Canada’s fastest sprinters in recent decades. He was voted Canada's Horse of the Year in 2008 on the strength of being named Canada's Outstanding Sprinter that year. He captured 12 career races, including five stakes, and earned $1,377,256. After winning his first career start as a juvenile in 2007, his three-year-old year included three early-season wins at Woodbine Racetrack, track record performances at Woodbine in the Bold Venture Stakes, at Presque Isle in the Tom Ridge Stakes and at Turfway Park, earning a trip to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint, where he placed second behind heavily favoured Midnight Lute.

Voters will select from Careless Jewel, Hard Not To Like and One For Rose in the Female Thoroughbred Horse category.

Careless Jewel, sired by Tapit, reeled off five wins in her sophomore season for Alberta-based owner Donver Stables and CHRHF trainer Josie Carroll. Her highlights that year included a 7-1/4-length victory in the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks and an 11-length win in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. Careless Jewel completed her win streak in the Grade 2 Fitz Dixon Cotillion Stakes at Philadelphia Park. She earned $1,013,346 with a race record of 5-0-1 from seven starts.

Bred in Ontario by Garland Williamson, well-travelled Hard Not To Like won at five of the eight tracks she visited during 22 starts over five years. She earned more than $1.2 million while accumulating eight victories. Her wins included the 2014 Jenny Wiley Stakes (Grade 1) at Keeneland, the 2015 Diana Stakes (Grade 1) at Saratoga and the Gamely Stakes (Grade 1) at Santa Anita the same year for three Grade 1 turf scores at three different tracks. The striking grey filly by Hard Spun out of Tactical Cat mare, Like a Gem (herself a multiple graded stakes winner), was indeed bred for success.

A three-time Canadian champion filly or mare, One For Rose was bred by John Sikura’s Hill ‘N’ Dale Farm, owned by the Tucci Stables of Toronto, Ont., and trained by Hall of Fame inductee Sid Attard during her lengthy career. During her career, she twice beat the boys in the Seagram Cup and had repeat wins in the Algoma Stakes, Maple Leaf and Ontario Matron. She was named the Sovereign Award recipient as Canada’s Older Female Horse in 2003, 2004 and 2005. As a broodmare, she produced five winners from six foals, including two million-dollar-plus earners. 

The 2026 Jockey finalists include Richard Dos Ramos, George HoSang and Emile Ramsammy.

Richard Dos Ramos was the senior member of the Woodbine Jockeys' Room in terms of years of service when he retired in 2013. The classy veteran began his riding career in the spring of 1981 at Greenwood. He claimed the rider’s title at both the Woodbine and Greenwood autumn meets that same year, as well as being named top apprentice jockey for the first of two consecutive years. It was during the following decade that two of his finest riding accomplishments came for Hall of Fame owner Steve Stavro, and his Hall of Fame trainer, Phil England. In 1992, he steered Benburb to a huge upset win over A.P. Indy in the Molson Export Million, as well as a stunning upset on Benburb in the Prince of Wales, beating 2022 CHRHF Veteran Inductee Alydeed. In 1999, he guided longshot Thornfield to victory in the $1.5 million Canadian International (Grade 1). In 2002, Dos Ramos was honoured with the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award before winning the Canadian Oaks with Ginger Gold. His career statistics include 18,645 races with 2,159 wins, 2,242 seconds, 2,206 thirds and nearly $61 million in purse earnings.

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, George HoSang rode extensively in Canada during the 1980s and 1990s, producing some of the highest volume and highest earning seasons of his career. His Canadian years are best known for large seasonal books of mounts, consistent in-the-money performances and several stakes-level victories. His most notable Canadian mounts include Minnedoso, Ginger Snap, Morning Native and Celtic Deer. At the time of his retirement in 1997, at the age of 53, he had won a total of 1,395 races, including 49 stakes and was twice Ontario’s leading rider.

Emile Ramsammy, considered a true gentleman and champion, began his career as a jockey in Trinidad in 1980. He achieved 500 wins and was named Caribbean Barbadian Champion jockey in 1986 and 1989, winning the Barbadian Gold Cup in 1985, 1987 and 1988. In 1990, Ramsammy started riding in Canada. He was awarded the Sovereign Award as Outstanding Jockey in 1996 and 1997, and received the Avelino Gomez Award 2011. His resume includes Queen’s Plate victories with Victor Cooley in 1996 and Edenwold in 2006 and he achieved stakes success with Wake at Noon, One for Rose and many others. HIs career statistics include 18,805 starts with a reading reading 2,283-2284-2250 and earnings of $89,102,028.

In the Communicator category the finalists are Michael Burns Jr., Neil Campbell and Bill Tallon. 

Following in the footsteps of his father, CHRHF Honoured Member Michael Burns Sr., Michael Burns Jr. joined his dad’s photography business in the late 1970s. He is the official photographer of Woodbine Racetrack. He has shot photos at 24 Breeders’ Cups for various media organizations and publications. His contribution to horse racing has been recognized with multiple Sovereign Awards, O’Brien Awards and Dan Patch Awards. In addition to his horse racing coverage, Burns' work has included telling the story of multiple national and international sports competitions. In 2022, Burns was inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame.

Writer Neil Campbell fell in love with horse racing at an early age and utilized that passion when he began covering the sport for The Globe and Mail, where from 1983 to 1987, he wrote several weekly columns and features for the publication, all while overseeing the work of other staff writers. Campbell’s coverage extended to telling the stories of the first 10 Breeders’ Cups. In 1986, Campbell won a Sovereign Award from the Jockey Club of Canda for Outstanding Writing.

A prolific horse racing writer, an avid handicapper and a fan of travelling to the world’s biggest races, Bill Tallon’s work could be read in the Daily Racing Form for a span of 35 years. During his tenure with DRF, Tallon held the positions of writer and editor while covering racing at Woodbine Racetrack and other Canadian tracks. In 1995, he won the Sovereign Award in the Outstanding Feature Writing category.  

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Legend Inductees

The finalists in the Legend category feature horses and people that made an impact on Canadian horse racing at least 50 years prior to election, with a particular focus on individuals considered "unsung heroes" and "trailblazers" and whose contributions helped shape the sport in Canada. One candidate from each breed will be named for induction.  

The Standardbred Legend finalists for 2026 include Retta Harrington, Fred Hill, Georgette Plouffe, William Henry Riddell and Wayne Smith.

Retta Harrington of Brighton, Ont., started driving after she raised her first Standardbred, Lu Attorney. She didn’t want to hand the horse to anyone else to race, so she pursued her driving license. She was the first woman to compete as a driver in regular races at Old Woodbine and was quoted as saying, “Women should have the right to become licensed drivers just like men. I think there should be more of them."

Fred Hill of Oshweken, Ont. was best known for winning every race on a full eight-race card at Beamsville in 1961, setting two North American records in the process: the most consecutive races ever won by a single driver, and the first to win every race on the card. In 1964, he won six straight races with mare Ladys Pride H.

Georgette Plouffe from Quebec raced at Richlieu Park, Connaught Park, Rideau Carleton Raceway and Blue Bonnets Raceway in the early 1960s as one of only a few licensed female drivers due to a law prohibiting additional women from being granted licenses to drive. In 1969, Plouffe was one of three Canadian female drivers, alongside Bobbe Huntress and Mildred Williams, selected to compete against American and Italian drivers in an international race series. Both Huntress and Williams are now honoured members of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. 

Over his lifetime, Orangeville, Ont. resident William Henry Riddell, referred to as the "Dean of Ontario Harness Racing," was devoted to harness racing as a veterinarian, a breeder, a trainer and a driver during the 1920s and 1930s. He built a nationally renowned Standardbred stable with horses he bred carrying the "Riddell" name on their registration papers.  

During a time when racial slurs were abundant for those of Indigenous heritage, Wayne Smith, from Six Nations, endured and found success in harness racing during the 1950s and 1960s, competing at tracks such as Ottawa’s Connaught Park. On one evening at Connaught Park, a line broke on a horse he was driving before the start of the race. Smith jumped from the sulky to the horse’s back to bring him to a stop. After a repair to the line, Smith went on to win the race.  

The 2026 Thoroughbred Legend finalists include Kemo Inamasu, Osborn Morton, Eva Ring, Alfred Tarn and Kathleen Taylor.

Kemo Inamasu was born in Japan in 1879 and left his home country as a teenager to seek his fortune, eventually finding his way to the Klondike in 1898, before becoming a restauranteur. Perhaps the trip was a failure, but he compensated for it later when he claimed the five-year-old mare Duchess of York for $1,000 in 1928. The mare was bred by Charlie Yeadle, who had purchased her dam, Lady Kilmarnock, in foal to Yorkshire Lad. The mare won 31 more races at tracks in Toronto, New Orleans, California, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina. 

Born a slave in the Southern United States, Osborn Morton came to the Montreal area through the Underground Railroad, eventually becoming a jockey, a horse owner and the owner of a livery stable on Montreal’s Bonaventure Street. 1875 records show that a horse name Aerolite, owned by Morton, won the second race of the day for a purse of $300 at Blue Bonnets. In 1877, Morton was described as working as a jockey at St. Charles Racecourse.  

Eva Ring (1911-1989) was among the first female jockeys to ride and train winning racehorses in western Canada during the 1930s to 1940s. It was a time in North American history when women were not permitted to obtain a jockey license or ride in flat races alongside their male counterparts, but Ring was a trailblazer and managed to overcome many of the obstacles of her time. In 1949, she obtained her trainer’s license from the Prairie Thoroughbred Breeders Racing Association.

Rosser, Manitoba pig farmer turned world class horseman, Alfred Tarn was described as a self-made and thoroughly enthusiastic sportsman. He was the leading winning owner in 1927 and 1930, runner-up in 1926 and 1929. In six seasons on the old prairie circuit, he pocketed more than $70,000. By 1930, Tarn had built a solid reputation as an owner and trainer of Thoroughbreds, with racing columns across North America referring to him as "well-known owner," "clever horseman," "shrewd campaigner," "possessor of a powerful stable,"  In 1936, he purchased Rushaway for $10,000 from multi-millionaire Joseph Early Widener. Rushaway won the Louisiana Derby in 1936 NTR 1:50 for 1-1/8 miles, with his son-in-law Johnny Longden up. That same year, Tarn was the second-leading trainer in North America.

Kathleen Taylor, who was often referred to by her nickname "Bill." was the eldest daughter of Austin and Kathleen Taylor. Austin is a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, inducted in the organization’s inaugural class in 1976. In the mid-1930s, Kathleen’s name became prominent within west coast racing circles as she ran her own stable. One of her great passions in life was horse racing, which she managed to fit in among her philanthropic pursuits.

(With files from Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame)