Scores of racing fans had the chance to meet and talk to several members of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame at Mohawk on Saturday night as part of a tribute promotion coordinated by the Hall of Fame and Standardbred Canada’s I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club.
Dr. John Findley, Jack Kopas, Dr. Glen Brown, Sarah Scott (representing Rocknroll Hanover), Bill O’Donnell, Bill Galvin, Carl Jamieson and Ron Waples were in attendance to meet with those trackside.
“We think it’s really important to reconnect our Hall of Famers with today’s fans,” said Linda Rainey.
Fans had the opportunity to check out the Rocknroll Hanover showcase displays inside the main doors and new framed photographs added to the Armstrong Brothers and Dr. Glen Brown displays.
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Tribute Race was won by Regal Son and Mike Saftic for connections Donald Lindsey, Paul Kleinpaste and William Alempijevic. The group of Hall of Fame members were in the winner’s circle following the race to make the presentation.
A Somebeachsomewhere print by equine artist Linda Shantz was raffled off as a fundraiser and was won by Mark Gingrich.
There was also a silent auction conducted in the grandstand with a wide variety of items in support of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. This included generous donations from many members of the industry, including an Up The Credit shadow box with his North America Cup pad and four shoes and a commemorative Greenwood Raceway medallion.
Earlier this year, the International Media Awards were handed out at the 2015 World Trotting Conference. This past Friday at Mohawk, there was a special award ceremony in the winner’s circle to recognize one of harness racing’s great talents.
Standardbred Track Photographer, Clive Cohen of New Image Media, was voted the winner in the category for Best Photograph for his shot of Horses Racing in the Fog which was published on the WEG website on October 2, 2014.
Keith McCalmont from the WEG Communications department was the other Canadian winner. Keith won the award for the Best Magazine article for his story, The Fight of A Lifetime, published in the March 2014 issue of TROT.
Making the trophy presentation to Clive was Standardbred Canada director Joanne Colville, along with Jamie Martin, Senior Vice President, Racing, WEG.
Joining Clive for the presentation were his wife Stephanie, sons Jacob and Ben and daughters Hannah and Rebecca.
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame 2015 Induction Ceremony will be hosted at the Mississauga Convention Centre on Wednesday, August 5th, 2015. The 2015 Standardbred inductees include horses Artsplace, J Cs Nathalie and people H. Charles (Charlie) Armstrong, William (Bill) Gale and Harry Eisen. The Thoroughbred inductees are Mine That Bird, Robert (Bob) M. Anderson, James (Jim) Bannon, Stewart Elliott and Roger Laurin. Tickets for the event can be purchased online at canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com.