At 69, Tony Infilise still dreams big.
By Paul Delean
One of his recurring dreams these days is of a racetrack. A new standardbred facility, in the vicinity of Montreal, built in his lifetime.
“I hope I’m there (when it opens). I think you could see it within five years,” said the former chairman (and ongoing director) of the Quebec Jockey Club.
It may seem unlikely, considering there hasn’t been a new racetrack built in Quebec in decades, but if it does happen, Infilise will deserve some of the credit.
That there is harness racing at all in the province these days is due in large measure to Infilise and his fellow volunteers on the non-profit QJC, who wouldn’t let die a sport agonizing after the bankruptcy of racetrack operator Attractions Hippiques in 2009.
“He is a man of conviction,” said QJC general manager Vincent Trudel, “and he definitely saved racing and brought it back in Quebec.”
Trudel said Infilise “probably did not fully realize the amount of effort an undertaking like this required,” or the delays and frustrations that are part and parcel of dealing with government, but he did it with energy, foresight, dedication and respect for all.
Infilise was the QJC’s first chairman of the board, a post he held for more than six years before stepping down in February, replaced by Claude Levesque.
It was a planned succession, very much in the Infilise style of rational, deliberate, strategic action.
He’d done the same with the family business in 2004, removing himself from the presidency of Quadra Chemicals while retaining the post of chief executive officer.
“A strong management team is the key. Part of the job is to build a team. Once you have that, you can step back. That’s also what happened at the Quebec Jockey Club. We went from six directors to 10, with the intention of adding one more. It gives you more expertise, savvy and resources, which you need for a volunteer board. There’s a lot of depth and talent there.”
Quadra, based in the Montreal suburb of Vaudreuil, is both family business and major enterprise, and is in the top three chemical-distribution companies in Canada and top seven in North America, with operations in several cities.
Co-founded in 1976 by Infilise and partner Lynn Bartlett, it’s grown at double-digit rates over the last 20 years and now has annual revenue of about $500 million. The 250 employees include three of the four children of Tony and Betty Infilise, all of whom hold management positions.
“It’s gone way beyond what Lynn and I would ever have imagined,” said Infilise, who now has a winter home in Barbados and a 50-foot sailboat (Caribbean Soul) to indulge his other sporting passion.
With a business the size of Quadra to oversee, as well as other family investments, Infilise already had plenty on his plate when the racing industry in his home province crumbled.
To that point, he’d been involved in harness racing only as an owner and breeder. But with the sport facing extinction, he decided to join other prominent Quebec owners like Guy Corbeil and Brian Paquet on the front lines of a rescue effort.
The initial plan was to buy the assets of Attractions Hippiques – including the lease for Hippodrome de Montreal, which would have enabled live racing to continue in the province’s largest urban market.
But that didn’t happen. “The government obviously didn’t want to have a track there anymore,” Infilise said. “It was the same in Quebec City. As soon as they decided to build an arena there, the racetrack was gone.”
Plan B was to start “literally from scratch,” initially with 10 racing days accorded to the racing association at the fair track in Ayer’s Cliff, QC. That led to racing dates in Quebec City, then the purchase in 2012 of Hippodrome Trois-Rivières, where the QJC now conducts 40 days of live racing annually.
“We’ve come a long way already, pay more in taxes than purses without any (provincial) government support at all, and I remain convinced we’ll be able to make this a viable, professional industry,” he said.
“Eventually, the government will see the job-creation possibilities of the base we have. If they’re really interested in creating jobs, we can help them. Our vision is clear. We want to get to 100 (live) programs, with H3R as the primary track but 40 programs as well in the Montreal region in spring, summer and early fall. That would help attract new owners, create a better market for breeders. The passion for horse racing is still deep in Quebec.”
Infilise’s own deep attachment to racing dates from his youth in Montreal.
“My dad loved to go to the races. He wasn’t around a lot, so some of the better times I had with him were at the racetrack. The animal itself is also endearing... so elegant, delicate, powerful and swift.”
By the early ‘80s, Infilise’s chemical business was doing well enough that he felt he could splurge and buy a horse.
The horse (he never paced enough to be called a pacer) was so forgettable Infilise doesn’t even recall the name, but it didn’t stop him from trying again.
And he’s been buying racehorses pretty much ever since, and breeding them as well for more than two decades. He currently has eight broodmares and about 20 horses in training, with Mark Steacy and Patrick Lachance his two main conditioners these days.
So far in the journey, Infilise has had only two horses that he would rank as top-calibre: Shanghai Phil, a multiple stakes winner as a two-year-old in 2004, and near-millionaire Sunshine Beach, an O’Brien Award finalist at three when he raced all season against Captaintreacherous, who he knocked off in a world-record performance in the 2013 Battle Of Brandywine at Pocono Downs.
What is it about horse racing that attracted and kept his attention?
“I’m not sure if it’s a passion or addiction. I just love it. It’s definitely been a release, helped me keep personal balance, kept me sane. The poles for me (in life) have been family, growing and building the family enterprise, horses and the charity work we do in the community.
“I’m a serious, thorough kind of guy, but horses are an area I’m less prudent and careful in. I take it seriously, and run it like a business, but the odds of developing the next Sunshine Beach aren’t great. I wish I was better at it. The success I’ve had so far really hasn’t equalled the effort I put into it. I’m either resilient or stupid… I’m not sure which. But I have had some success, and I just love having equine athletes who can compete with the best in the world. That’s what turns me on.”
