"He knew I was quite keen as we talked a lot on the phone and he told me I should buy into something decent. I put the filly up for sale, watched the colt’s first start in a maiden at Georgian Downs and took a chance.”
With the O’Brien Awards fast approaching, the industry is preparing to recognize the best in seventeen different categories; for George and Greg Judson, it’s a family affair.
“I got the bug from my father [George]," said Greg Judson. "He dragged me along to racetracks all over Ontario. I guess he needed someone to talk to!”
The Judsons, who own and operate a funeral home in Athens, Ont. -- about an hour northeast of Kingston -- will head to the GTA in a month's time each hoping to take home hardware in their respective categories, with George a co-owner of Harper Blue Chip and Greg owning part of Dont Rush.
George has seen his fair share of the industry, with twenty-five years of racing under his belt. Greg became a Sunday afternoon regular as a teenager at Kingston Park Raceway in the late 1970s. His first foray into ownership didn’t come until 2000, when he purchased a stake in a yearling trained by Mark Steacy.
“We had the horse in a couple races at two, ended up selling it but I was hooked. So of course I invested the money in another couple yearlings the next year, as well as a few with Murray Brethour.”
Greg has fond memories of Armbro Whiplash, a Mr Lavec trotter who was a two year old when he became involved in 2001.
“He started in the Grassroots at Belleville and he went around that track like there as nothing to it and we thought we had something great. I thought he could have set a track record that day. He was a tough horse, couldn’t quite make it in the Gold.”
Thirteen years after Armbro Whiplash, the phone rang with what would turn out to be an incredible offer. On the line was trainer Dustin Jones, who was bringing a three-year-old back to the races for Judson. The phone call, however, wasn't about the filly. He was calling about an offer to buy into a two-year-old trotting colt named Dont Rush.
Putting the filly up for sale and taking the trainer's advice paid off in spades. Dont Rush went on to post a record of 4-3-1 in eleven starts, banking just shy of $300,000 and posting a mark of 1:57.1 over Mohawk Racetrack. Jones clearly saw something special in the Infinitif-Color Me Pretty colt, something Greg sees as well.
“He raced well for us all season; there were definitely a few bumps along the road. In one race, Rise Up Rise Up tried to get by us on the backside but Dustin wouldn’t let him go. He didn’t have enough left in the tank and we got beat by a horse on the rail by a nose...I’ll never forget Rise Up Rise Up, he ripped me off!,” Greg said with a laugh.
His season featured many impressive performances, culminating with a victory in the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings before receiving an O’Brien Award nomination in his category. Not only is Dont Rush is a finalist for two-year-old trotting colt along with Habitat, but Jones is a finalist for the O'Brien Award of Horsemanship with Bill Davis, and the colt's driver, Chris Christoforou is also up for Driver of the Year honours with Trevor Henry.
“The Super Final win was thrilling," continued Judson. "I’ve managed to be there in person for most of his races. I didn’t have my name on the ownership papers for the first few races, and then I realized pretty quickly that I should!”
The Judson family celebrated a banner year in 2014 as they will be present for the recognition of not one, but two horses, the second being Harper Blue Chip. Greg's father, George Judson started a spectator at Rideau Carleton Raceway and owned parts of horses for the next 25 years. With somewhat limited success over the years, his patience was rewarded when Mark Steacy approached him about buying into “Harper”.
Holding a mark of 1:54.3, Harper Blue Chip earned nearly $700,000 in 2014 while competing against one of the toughest recent crops of sophomore trotters in recent memory. He captured the 2014 OSS Super Final for three-year-old colts and geldings, the Canadian Breeders Championship and finished an impressive third in the Hambletonian.
The 26th edition of the O’Brien Awards will be taking place on Saturday, February 7 at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel and Conference Centre in Mississauga, Ont., recognizing thirty-four finalists in their respective categories.
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Hannah Beckett)