Remembering Tom & Reta Crawford

Horse owners Tom (T.P.) and Reta Crawford were married for 73 years and on Saturday, April 13 family and friends celebrated their lives together.

On April 8, 2013, T.P. Crawford, a longtime director of Rideau Carleton Raceway and owner of horse under Roof Vent Stables, passed away at the age of 96. Four days later and just hours before his funeral, Reta passed away at the age of 93. Many of the mourners that had come to the Immaculate Heart Of Mary church on Alta Vista Drive were expecting just one funeral, not knowing that Reta had passed away hours earlier.

“They definitely would have wanted to go together,” daughter Lynda, 68, told the Ottawa Citizen, “when I think of their 73 years together.”

Son Larry, 72, the oldest of the Crawford's six children, added “I think it was meant to be.”

In the early ‘70’s Crawford purchased his first racehorse, first dabbling in the sport before deciding to turn it into a family business. Minor Mac was the winner of 14 races and over $22,000. “We had him for a long time, he gave us lots of pleasure and won many races," Crawford stated in an interview prior to his passing.

The Crawfords were frequently at the track, so often that they had their own reserved table in the Rideau Carleton dining room, and owned all of or part of nearly 80 horses at one point.

"We have both bred and raced horses. We owned 78 horses at one time and owned shares in Brisco Hanover, Senor Skipper and Valdez Hanover."

While having a piece of top trotting and pacing talent, Crawford recalled the one that got away.

"At Harrisburg one year Keith Waples and I were going to pick up a yearling to take to Pompano to train. Two horses took our eye, they were Lil Almahurst and Silver Almahurst, they were in stalls side by side. When the bidding ended we were the owners of Lil Almahurst. Keith took both horses down to break and train, they were very equal in their training. We entered Lil to qualify in Toronto, she hurt her left front leg, we brought her back as a three year old, sadly the same leg went again and that was the end. Silver Almahurst went on to win over a million dollars. He was the one that got away."

Crawford was also one of the first owners of the infamous single-shaft race bike in the 1970s, a bike that was later barred.

According to the Citizen, the couple made their final trip to Rideau in November, on oxygen and in wheelchairs.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Tom and Reta Crawford.