A few weeks away from year end, René Allard is on the verge of becoming one of the youngest trainers ever to bank the highest number of wins in the country. He’s already amassed over 200 victories -- more than Richard Moreau pocketed to win last year’s honours. And even aside from these numbers, his success is clear -- Allard is amongst the most prolific trainers at five Ontario tracks: Flamboro Downs, Georgian Downs, Grand River, Hanover and Kawartha Downs. It’s no surprise that the 22-year-old is experiencing some of the best moments thusfar in his career.
A native of Saint-Esprit, in the Joliette region of the province of Québec (roughly 50 kilometres north of Montreal), René was introduced to horses by his father, Michel, and his grand-father. “My father worked with miniature horses for many years and the track Piste de Course Rive-Nord occupied a part of our farm; it’s the environment I grew up in,” he says. “In my early childhood, I travelled a lot to attend competitions with my father. Six or seven times every summer, we went to American tracks, usually to Indiana (a 15-hour drive), Boston and New York. As far back as I can remember, it’s always been my passion.”
The youngest of a family of four children (he has two brothers and a sister), René might have been interested in politics. His mother, Danielle Henri-Allard, has been mayor of Saint-Esprit for thirteen years, which is a record in the municipality. But René had made his choice early -- at the beginning of his studies. “By age six or seven, when I got home from school everyday, I was pitching my backpack on the lawn in front of the house,” he laughs, “just so that I could make it to the barn as fast as possible. While my father was busy with the crops, I was training our miniature horses.”
It was evident that racing horses would be René’s future -- all the more so since his father yielded to the temptation of buying a few standardbreds. At 16, the young horseman began training harness horses, and since then, his colour-bearers have maintained an average of .300 or better. Just 6 years since his debut, René’s career record now shows over 600 wins with earnings of $3.7 million dollars.
Despite his young age, René is modest about his success. He readily admits that he has had to put in the necessary efforts and learn the basics in order to succeed. “I have always enjoyed discussing things with experienced people,” he explains. “I watch what they do best. I listen to them and try to make it to their level before attempting to do better.”
He also confesses that he has a lot of determination, which has always served him well. “I’m not afraid to examine what’s being done elsewhere. I don’t stay at the same place and I’m not afraid to travel to meet people from whom I can learn. I meet various people, people from Australia, from New-Zealand, from everywhere... and if I can pick up a little of their expertise, it will increase my chances of success.”
In addition to his father, René learned a lot from late family friend Jean-Marc Bouchard, a veteran of the racing industry with whom the young trainer was very close. “I met Ti-Marc in my adolescent years and he shared with me a significant part of his vast experience,” René recalls. “He was always with me. When I made my debut as trainer, I was glad he was there. He was my mentor.” Jean-Marc Bouchard, who died last December after battling cancer, was nearly fifty years older than René, and like a second father to him.
Today, René is proud to be able to count on his trustworthy staff for the management of his 50-horse barn. “It’s a big organization and I have good people around me,” he says. “That’s important.”
But he also places a great deal of importance on doing his homework. “Often, I’ll be on my computer until the early hours of the morning, having watched replays of races until late into the night,” René admits. “I watch replays of races run on different racetracks to detect the smallest details that will help me pick classes for my horses in the future.” It’s just one example of how little time the trainer has for leisure; he pours every moment of his day into improving his racing business.
“This analysis allows me to find the tracks on which my horses will perform better,” he adds. “I don’t hesitate to compete on many racetracks, even the most distant ones, because my horses must always have the opportunity for a victory. If it means a five-hour drive, I’ll do it. I prefer a few hours of driving for a win than a few minutes of driving for third place. “
The first career victory is always a happy moment that imprints itself onto our memory; René keeps a very special place in his heart and memory for the horse Agaric, with whom he visited the winner’s circle when he first began racing.
“I had claimed this horse at Trois-Rivières for $4,000, and shortly afterward he won in a Montréal claimer at $6,000, with a time of 1:55,” he recalls. “He was a big horse, almost like a clydesdale! I always liked the horse -- not because he was my best, but maybe because he was the first one. At the time, I was just starting to live the thrill of horse racing.”
The pacer Royal Becquet also has a soft spot with René. “He’s a horse to which I’m closely linked,” he says, “Because we have owned him since he was eighteen months old. We bought him for $5,000, and he has banked $300,000 for us so far.” But this son of Yankee Cam didn’t have it easy. “He fell three times on his knees on the track and when he was gelded, between the ages of two and three, he almost died of an infection. We have nicknamed him the small warrior, which suits him fine.”
Just fine, indeed. This past August, Royal Becquet registered a track record at Sulky Québec, stopping the clock at 1:54.2.
Incidently, it was on a memorable day for his trainer that Royal Becquet banked that record. It was Five Mile day, August 30 -- the day that three of René’s pupils had great success. And one of those, Heartthrob, was purchased just five days prior to registering him for the day’s feature race. Not a bad buy, clearly. “I had already participated in this competition in the past,” says René, “and noticed that it was necessary to have the horse with the right build for this race -- and I’d also realized that I didn’t need to subject that horse to a particular style of training.
“On the Tuesday before this historical race, I was looking at the entries at various racetracks with one of my employees, Stéphane Lareau. He told me that he once had this horse, Heartthrob, under his care in Florida. He believed that he would be a good horse for endurance races. I looked at his most recent performances more attentively and realized he was showing the aptitudes of a horse able to finish his races with strength. Lareau convinced me. I contacted the owner and bought him after his race that night.”
The day after, Heartthrob was registered at the track Sulky Québec. The following Sunday, he won The Five Mile, flying through the ten laps in a time of 11:22.1.
“It’s a day I will always remember,” grins René. “It was a very special day. My parents and brother were there, and it was at home, in Québec.” He’s disheartened, of course, by the current racing situation in his native province, and adds that’s he’s hoping for a turn-around in the future.
Though René has had a knack for training claimers since the start of his career, he now intends to take on the challenge of working with young horses.
“I didn’t have very many colts to train in the past, maybe one per year, but I’d like to have more. I had success in the past with some, such as Royal Becquet. I intend to have seven or eight this fall.”
He often calls upon his brother Simon to drive his protégées -- and for him, there is no plan to follow his brother to the sulky. “I do not have the physical aptitudes for the job!” laughs Rene. “I am not interested in driving. I want to concentrate on training.”
The young horseman also intends to improve his stock, but he is aware that he has to take it one step at a time. “When you are starting, you cannot be at the top of the ladder!” he says. “You have to get involved with the industry and win the respect of the owners, but I think I’m on the right track.”
Thanks to his determination, his energy, his wisdom, and mostly his patience, there is no doubt that René is, in fact, on the right track. And there are good odds on betting that within a few years, he will be up there with our elite North American trainers.