The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame has announced its 2012 inductees. This year’s honour roll includes three horses and two people representing the Standardbred industry, as well as three horses and two people from the Thoroughbred ranks.
The 2012 Standardbred Inductees are:
Astreos – Male Horse Category
Kadabra – Male Horse Category
Mystic Mistress – Female Horse Category
Dave Wall – Trainer/Driver Category
Charles Juravinski – Builder Category
Astreos, a son of Artsplace, won several stakes events, including the 2000 Little Brown Jug during his million dollar race career and took a record of 1:49.3. In his second career, as a stallion, he has produced winners of over $50 million to date, and many top performers including Zooka, Astronomical, To Helen Back and Voelz Hanover.
As a racehorse, Kadabra enjoyed incredible success, winning 25 of 36 lifetime starts for earnings in excess of $2.1 million. In the years since his entrance to the breeding shed, he has sired the winners of more than $26.5 million including stars Poof Shes Gone and Daylon Magician; and in 2011 he was No. 1 in Canada for his progeny’s all-age earnings of $8,408,950.
Mystic Mistress has established herself as a top broodmare in the sport, producing the winners of more than $3.8 million, including Mystician, the 2010 Metro Pace Champion and a winner of over $1.6 million, and Camystic, a proven sire and a winner of over $779,000 on the track. Mystic Mistress, now owned by Warrawee Farm, received the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association’s award as Broodmare of the Year for 2011.
Dave Wall, 65, of Komoka, Ontario, and a former top campaigner on the Woodbine Entertainment Group circuit, has driven 7,117 winners and horses to earnings in excess of $59.6 million during his career. He has also dabbled in training, sending 518 winners postward and horses with over $2.4 million in earnings. Two outstanding horses that he drove were pacing filly Odies Fame, a winner of $1.4 million, and Hall of Fame trotter Goodtimes, a winner of more than $2.2 million.
Charles Juravinski, 82, of Dundas, Ontario, was involved in harness racing as a racetrack operator and owner-breeder. With no prior knowledge of racetracks or horse racing, Charles took a chance and turned a farmer’s field into Flamboro Downs, a multi-million dollar half-mile racetrack, which opened in 1975 and soon became one of Canada’s premier racetracks and home to the Confederation Cup. He raced horses and ran the racetrack devotedly for the next 30 years until 2003. He also raced two world champion horses who are also members of the Hall of Fame – the top pacing mare Ellamony, which he also bred, and pacing horse Matts Scooter.
The five Thoroughbred representatives in the Hall of Fame class of 2012 include:
Jambalaya – Male Horse Category
Arravale – Female Horse Category
L’Alezane – Veteran Horse Category
Russell Baze – Jockey/Trainer Category
Aubrey Minshall – Builder Category
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is a Not-For-Profit organization founded in 1976. For 20 years this was a Hall of Fame without a “home”. In 1997, the dream of the founders finally became a reality when the Ontario Jockey Club provided a permanent site at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is a dual hall representing both Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds.
Inductees are added annually to build an ever-growing honour roll in the category of Builders, Drivers/Trainers, Jockeys/Trainers and Veterans. The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is located by the West Entrance of Woodbine Racetrack.
The Induction Ceremony will be hosted at the Mississauga Convention Centre on Thursday, August 16, 2012.
For more information, including the purchase of tickets to attend the induction ceremony, please contact:
Linda Rainey
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Linda.rainey@horseracinghalloffame.com
416-417-9404
