This week's Rewind takes a look back to 50 years ago and revisits the start of a young Maritime horseman's driving career.
Fifty years ago, back in 1964 a then-18-year-old Douglas "Sonny" Rankin was already well into his career as a driver. Three years previous to this time he had applied to the U.S.T.A. for a driver's licence and, despite being only 15, the application was approved one year before the normal qualifying age. He was granted a provisional licence to drive his father's horses. Part of his early training even involved working out in harbour ice racing at Wallace, N.S. during the winter months.
In his first ever drive at the Sydney track, Sonny was home first with Tenniswood, a 14-year-old Corporal Lee gelding owned by his father Donald Rankin. The purse was $250 and his winning time was 2:19, taking the second heat of a double-dash event. The beginning of a long journey was underway. Considering the horse and the driver were about the same age, it was an interesting start. This horse was in his third decade of racing, dating all the way back to his start on the Michigan Fair Circuit in 1949.
This however was not Rankin's first ever public appearance on the track; that had occurred several years earlier, serving as a "Marshall". Riding a pony named "June Bug", the young eight-year-old lad had led the post parades at the Sydney Sports Centre where his father was a prominent driver. Part of his job also was to return each heat winner to the winner's circle. The Rankins were deeply entrenched in the area, and had been a part of the local racing scene for decades. They resided at a nearby hamlet called Balls Creek.
In 1963 Sonny had racked up an incredible 106 victories, all on Maritime ovals. This placed him 25 victories ahead of his closest rival. Somewhat coincidentally, although in no other way comparable, it matched another Maritime driver's win total for the year. Since the beginning of time, young Sonny had admired the career of Joe O'Brien. That year the man for whom the sport's highest awards are named also scored 106 trips to the winner's circle. What Sonny now hoped was that he too one day would win The Hambletonian.
At age 18 Sonny was content to stay near home and perform his trade at the local ovals. Much of his time was taken assisting in the training his father's rather large stable. Early in his career he began to win quite a few races and in those days most were of the double-heat variety and he often took both ends. Some of his initial wins came behind such horses as Mr Price, Debra H, Chrisdale, Black Andy and King Peter.
In the early 1960's Donald Rankin Sr., Sonny's father purchased a horse that soon became the lad's favourite. He was a gelding named Eben's Ace, U.S.-bred and first raced in New York State. He was purchased at a sale in Montreal for $700. In 1962 Sonny set a Sydney track record of 2:06.4 with this horse and the pair soon became local favourites whenever they raced. Described in a local newspaper ad as "rather shy and modest", Sonny attributed his early success as a driver to good horses, mostly his father's.
Left: Douglas "Sonny" Rankin in 1964 at age 18 poses with his favourite pacer Eben's Ace. Right: Sonny Rankin in later years.
One of the early highlight's of the young Rankin's career occurred not in a winning effort but in a 1962 race in which he finished second. At the same sale that the senior Rankin purchased the bargain horse Eben's Ace, a high priced horse named Irish Grattan C was sold for $ 45,000. In a special race expected to be a sort of "match" race, Irish Grattan C was invited to race in the Maritimes against the top local horse Dee's Boy. who hailed from Dartmouth, N.S. In a mile that was clocked in 2:03.3, Dee's Boy was the winner for driver Myron MacArthur, with Eben's Ace second and the high priced Irish Grattan C a disappointing last. This race was contested at the Lower Sackville track, the scene of many of the flashy roan Dee's Boy's 14 victories that season.
The family of the late Donald Rankin and the former Margaret MacDonald is one of the larger Maritime families involved in harness racing, numbering four boys and four girls . Each of them have taken an interest in the sport in varying degrees, with all of the boys taking up driving at one time or another. Following "Sonny" the eldest, were brothers Joe, Callie and Donnie Jr. The girls in the family are Theresa, Donna, Darlene and Mary Lou.
Today some 50-plus years after his driving career started, the not-as-young "Sonny" reportedly is still working at his lifetime calling. He is training and racing mainly young horses. His lifetime win total as a driver exceeds 2,500; not a bad career in a sport he continues to enjoy. To date, his boyhood dream of winning the Hambletonian is still on his "To Do" list.