Taurasi, recipient of the 2024 O’Brien Award for Older Pacing Horse, was humanely euthanized on Saturday, March 14 at Woodbine Mohawk Park following an injury sustained on the track.
Taurasi, making his 90th career start, was racing on the lead on the last turn when he broke stride and was pulled up by Doug McNair. Woodbine confirmed on social media that the seven-year-old had been put down. McNair, the horse’s longtime regular driver, booked off the remainder of his drives.
The son of Racing Hill-Voluminous came to the fore as a Grand Circuit competitor as a four-year-old in 2023, and he was one of Canada's top older pacers since 2024, contesting several stakes events while remaining a fixture at the highest level at his home track of Mohawk. After dominating the Kentucky Commonwealth Series at three for trainer Tony Alagna, he finished second in the Kentucky Sire Stakes final for four-year-olds in 2023 and stepped up to face Grand Circuit horses. His achievements that year include a second in the Allerage, a third in the McKee Memorial and earning a Breeders Crown final berth. He also set his lifetime mark of 1:47.2 when he won an overnight race at The Meadowlands.
Mohawk became Taurasi's home base after shipping to Ontario at the tail end of that season. In 2024, he won nine consecutive Preferreds and 11 overall on the year while also finishing a narrow second in the Mohawk Gold Cup and recording a show finish in the Pacey Mindlin Memorial at Miami Valley Raceway. For his efforts at five, he was named Canada's Older Pacing Horse of the Year. He defeated top-class rivals four times in 2025 to bring his total to 17 at Mohawk throughout his career.
Taurasi won 30 races with 16 second-place finishes and 11 thirds and earned $911,124. He was trained by Gregg McNair since August 2024 and owned by Brad Grant of Milton, Ont. and Alagna Racing LLC of Howell, N.J. since October 2023.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Taurasi.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Taurasi winning on Aug. 10, 2024)
Taurasi
My heartfelt condolences to all the connections. A special hug to Doug - a heartbreaking experience.
Rest Easy Big Fella
My thoughts and prayers are with Taurasi's connections at this heart breaking time. He was a great horse, it is such a shame that he is gone. Rest easy big fella, thanks for the memories.
RIP Beautiful Boy :(
RIP Beautiful Boy :(
R.IP. Taurasi
I was watching the races online. There was a very lengthy delay between the 3rd and 4th races (Taurasi was in race 3) and after it they announced that Doug McNair has been taken off all drives for the rest of the night, but they didn't announce why, or the reason for the delay. I had no idea what had happened until I read this article. It's always tragic when a horse has to be put down, but even more so if it's a horse that you've watched race and wagered on many times. My sympathies for the connections. Requiescat in Pace, Taurasi.