Gordon M. Findlay Passes

Trot Insider has learned that longtime Canadian Trotting Association executive and Standardbred industry participant Gordon M. Findlay passed away on Sunday, March 20 in his 98th year.

Originally from Chatsworth, Ont., Findlay was residing in Guelph at LaPointe-Fisher Nursing Home at the time of his passing.

Findlay was born into a family very familiar with horses. Son of the late Allan and Jessie Findlay, Gordon's father had a livery stable, and also judged light horses and heavy horses in Ontario for 46 years. Ken McKinnon was a CTA director from nearby Owen Sound, and connected Findlay to the CTA in 1956 when he started his tenure as CTA Secretary-Treasurer.

"He was probably the first modern day executive of the CTA," said former Standardbred Canada President and CEO Ted Smith, who was familiar with Findlay as his father Claire was one of the many presiding judges across the country that were under the oversight the CTA." The office was on Browns Line in Etobicoke, he worked there with three or four people and they were the Association, they did everything. They were responsible for the racing officials, licencing, memberships, racelines, and it was all manual. Eligibility cards, year-end summaries, exchanging that data with the United States Trotting Association."

The introduction of night harness racing was most certainly a pivotal moment for the future of harness racing in Canada. During the 1960s, CTA membership more than tripled, from 3,871 people in 1960 to 12,789 nine years later. In 1967, harness racing became Canada's number one patronized sport. Blue Bonnets witnessed the first single-day million-dollar handle. Throughout this period of growth, Findlay -- who for a period of time lived with his family above the CTA office -- was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the organization.

"When I started, I had one person working for me and I saw that grow to 29," said Findlay in a 1989 Trot interview. "They were pretty rewarding years. The whole thing was a challenge every day, because there was always something new happening."

With that period of growth came the need to tighten up the rules and regulations, something Findlay felt was key for that growth to continue.

"When I started there was hardly any control. Anybody could write in to get a driver's licence and it was more or less issued on the strength of two directors vouching and signing for the applicant. I've got to give Dr. [Cecil] Heslop a lot of credit, because he backed me up when I said 'we've got to tighten these things up."

During that time, Findlay served under three CTA Presidents: Heslop, Hugh Proudfoot and H. Allen Dickenson. A well-respected participant, Findlay would help mediate situations between the horsemen's group and the Ontario Jockey Club as an impartial third party. He also served as the Registrar for the Canadian Standardbred Horse Society and was the farm manager of Argyle Farm for George Henderson.

Through his position, he met and became friends with legendary horsemen Del Miller, Billy Haughton and Joe O'Brien, as well as P.J. Baugh of Almahurst Stud Farm. While residing in Brampton, Ont., Findlay had property adjacent to Armbro Farm and became good friends with Elgin and Charlie Armstrong. He remained active in the business with a few broodmares and racehorses through the early 1990s.

Left: An undated headshot of Gordon Findlay; Right: Gordon Findlay with Gabe Trahan, supervisor of racing Province of Quebec, during the International Trotting Conference in Columbus, Ohio, 1969.