Canada plays host to thousands of Standardbred races each year. The world-class stakes events, the sires stakes battles, and high-classed races surely garner a great deal of publicity, and rightfully so. With that being said, the national industry did not come to a standstill when Great Quote held on to win in 2:03 during the Miami Fair's meet-closing program on September 12. Although, for the youngest racehorses owners in Manitoba, the victory in the $1,800 race was nothing less than a seismic moment.
To be frank, 2020 has been a long year for everyone, and each and every one of us has had an utterly unique cocktail of variables that we've been forced to accept, whether we like it or not. There have been health challenges, financial challenges, job-security challenges.... the list could go on and on, so let's just cut it short. The majority of people have either been run right off of their feet or have had months upon months to sit around and wonder what other curveballs the future has in store.
Melanie Rey-Clark and her kids, Austin Clark (8) and Skylar Clark (4), have not been willing to get down during these trying times. Regardless of the challenges that 2020 has presented, Melanie and the kids have opted to focus on a constant: their love of the Standardbred. Those that are currently giving it their all in Manitoba's harness racing industry are undoubtedly doing so for their steadfast interest the sport, the thrill of the live action, and because of their unadulterated love for the Standardbred breed.
Like scores of others that have been born into the industry, Austin and Skylar's love and appreciation for the Standardbred is second nature and intense. "They've have been around it (the harness racing industry) their whole lives," Melanie, who has officially trained horses for the past 10 years, told Trot Insider. "I work nights on call for CFS, so they are always with me at the barn during the day because I am home with them. Especially with COVID, they help me clean the barn and jog the horses."
Like she always does, Melanie had her eye on a particular horse over the course of the past few years. Followers of British Columbia's harness racing industry surely don't need an introduction to Great Quote (AKA 'Rex'), a gelded son of Well Said that had raced at Fraser Downs on and off for the better part of a decade. After having been on her radar, Melanie pulled the trigger on a deal for Great Quote midway through the 2019 racing season. She had wanted Austin and Skylar to be part owners of the horse. The kids had absorbed a great deal of experience in the industry at such a young age, but the title of 'owner' was something that would be new to them. No matter what experience a youngster has accrued in the industry, being anointed as an owner of a horse surely introduces an important change in perspective and understanding to a developing mind. Unfortunately, red tape had gotten in the way of the kids' ownership aspirations in 2019, but things changed this year for Austin and Skylar, who are now Manitoba's youngest racehorse owners.
"I did buy Great Quote -- we call him 'Rex' -- last year," Melanie explained. "The kids could not own him at that time because there was a rule in Manitoba for kids under 16, they could not own a horse with our commission. That was changed by the commission this year, so we added them as the official owners."
Austin and Skylar officially became co-owners of Great Quote in late July. Ownership has proven important to both of the kids, and likewise for Great Quote, who appears to have taken to the youngsters as much as they have taken to him. For the match made in heaven to occur during such a challenging year, maybe it was meant to be?
"Austin, especially, really wanted to own his own horse. He made a summer wish list and owning his own horse was on it," Melanie told Trot Insider. "He became attached to Rex in the spring when I started training him back for our meet. With COVID, he was home with me and at the barn every day. No one could catch Rex in his pen -- the only one who could was Austin. Rex is very quiet when it comes to the kids, always comes to them and puts his head down. Even when I can’t catch him, the kids always can."
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Skylar (left) and Austin (right), pictured with Great Quote (AKA 'Rex').
"Austin has started to learn the sport with Rex because he is so quiet," said Melanie. "Austin walks him to the paddock and helps me jog him and walk him around. His uncle, Michel Rey, is Rex's driver. Before every race, Austin will tell his uncle 'good luck' and say 'good luck' to Rex. Even when Rex didn’t win, they were happy giving him his Rice Krispies after his race, and Austin would sit on the bike walking his horse back to the barn. Austin’s favourite part of every weekend was driving Rex back on the bike on his uncle's lap after his race."
Although it took a while for Rex to notch his first win for his new owners, the nine-year-old gelding provided nothing but thrills and excitement for Austin and Skylar along the way. Rex was knocking on the door for a month and a half, as he recorded four second-place finishes and two third-place efforts at the Miami Fair through the dog days of summer. If nothing else, Rex was a positive beacon for the kids during a blistering summer that was loaded with uncertainty. The thing is, Rex was also having the same positive effect on those that were watching the story unfold.
"They have loved having their own horse and it has brought excitement at the track," Melanie explained to Trot Insider. "I bring them to the barn two or three times a day and they are in the backstretch with me the whole time on race day. They are excited to watch Rex race and give him lots of pre-race kisses and hugs."
On Saturday, September 12, Rex would have his day in the sun at the Miami Fair, and it was a moment that will not soon be forgotten by Austin, Skylar and those that were there to take it in.
Michel Rey lined Rex up in Post 4 for the 'Bling Kaching Retirement Pace,' which carried a purse of $1,800. Rey and his charge went right to the top and cut the fractions in :30.3, 1:01.4 and 1:31. Rex duelled with Little Taggs in the final quarter, but also had to contend with a wild late rally from Bling Kaching himself, who had made up a ton of ground late and was right there at the wire as the photo finish camera snapped away in 2:03. The image determined that Rex had held on to win by a neck. From there, the party was on.
"When Rex won for them, it was very emotional," Melanie explained to Trot Insider. "Austin and Skylar were ecstatic. Austin felt like an official owner and even got soaked in the backstretch. I haven’t seen Austin ever smile that big. The win was emotional for all of us to watch. They said it was too close to call at the wire and when they announced Rex won they screamed and jumped up and down. My husband, who works in the pari-mutuels, could hear me and the kids cheering Rex on from the backstretch. Austin gave his uncle a big high five in the winner's circle and drove his horse back off the track on his uncle's lap. It was special, to say the least."
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A shot of the winner's circle after Great Quote (AKA 'Rex') provided Austin and Skylar with their first win as owners.
When COVID-19 is eventually in the rear view mirror, and we all get back to a state of quasi-normalcy, Melanie, Austin and Skylar will most likely look back on the summer of 2020 with a different perspective than most. Their memories will not be of living through a bewildering pandemic, but most likely of owning a caring Standardbred that did everything he could to help his young owners through a trying time.