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Woodbine Entertainment Adds New Board Members

Standardbred owner and breeder Brad Grant and Canadian sports business executive Scott Mitchell were named to the Woodbine Entertainment Board, the organization said in a release Wednesday.

Also, Mark Saunders has been re-elected to Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors after taking a short leave of absence to run in the recent By-Election for Mayor of the City of Toronto.

“We are very pleased to welcome Brad and Scott, and welcome back Mark, to our Board,” said Hugh Mitchell, Chair of Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors. “Their diverse wealth of business acumen, knowledge, leadership and experience bodes well to contribute to our complex and growing business. Our Board very much looks forward to working with each of these exceptional individuals.”

Grant has been the leading Woodbine Standardbred owner for six of the last seven seasons and currently sits atop the standings for 2023. Mitchell is currently the Managing Partner and CEO of the Hamilton Sports Group (HSG). Saunders is a retired police officer and most recently, the Chief of Police for the Toronto Police Service.

“We welcome back Mark and look forward to benefiting from his experiences and leadership, as we do with Brad and Scott,” added Lawson. “All three individuals will add a breadth of knowledge and experience that will complement and support our existing directors as we continue to build our business and industry for future growth.”

Woodbine Entertainment said that former CEO and long-time Director Nick Eaves is retiring from the Board.

“I would like to thank Nick for his countless contributions to our organization and industry over the past several decades,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “His leadership and steady hand during challenging times served Woodbine well and our organization and industry continue to benefit from his leadership through the years.”

Grant, Mitchell and Saunders's appointments to Woodbine Entertainment's Board of Directors are subject to regulatory approval.

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Emile Allain, Successful Ontario Trainer, Horse Lover Passes at 91

Courtesy Jennifer Morrison, Canadian Thoroughbred

A horseman and a gentleman, Emile Allain had a love of horses from an early age. Born in France, Allain set up an equestrian centre in Montreal with his wife Margaret, helping young people learn to ride and discover their own love of the horse.

Allain stepped out in the 1960s to try his hand at training Thoroughbreds, first at Montreal's Blue Bonnets and then opening a stable at Canada's biggest racetrack, Woodbine. He quickly formed a clientele of prominent owners, including Banham Yousif's BKY Stable, Harry Hindmarsh, George Hendrie, the Schemmer family's Arosa Farms, Terfloth Farm, Jean Josephson and Dick Bonnycastle's Harlequin Ranches.

Allain's horses raced, and won, against some of the biggest stables in Canadian history, including that of Frank Merrill and Frank Passero.

One of Allain's first big wins as a trainer was the 1979 Canadian Oaks with Kamar who overcame knee surgery in her 2-year-old season to become Canada's champion 3-year-old filly that year. Kamar, a daughter of the blue hen mare Square Angel, went on to become a Classic producer herself.

He won the Nettie S. (now the E.P. Taylor Stakes) with European import Senorita Poquito. In addition to developing young horses and plenty of talented turf females, Allain also conditioned Knight's Turn, who was one of Canada's top handicap horses in the late 1970s.

Phoenix Factor, a juvenile filly owned by Adrian Anderson, was named Sovereign Award champion in 1987 based on her impressive speed and stakes victories.

Allain consistently landed in the top 10 trainers at the various Ontario race meetings and top three on a few occasions. For more than a dozen years his win total was often 25 to 35 wins.

In the 1980s, his stars included the brilliant sprinting mare L'Epee, Green Noble, who won the Dowager S. at Keeneland and Keen Falcon, winner of the Coronation Futurity for OJC president Pat Keenan.

Allain did seem to have a way with the fillies and one of his top earners was Miss Crissy, a multiple stakes winner in the early 2000s.

Allain also developed more than a few top horsepeople who worked in his stable. Successful New York trainer Rick Violette, also an influential figure as advocate for horsepeople and horse care, worked as an assistant for Allain for several years before beginning his career. And Allain's daughter Josee galloped horses at Woodbine.

Upon retiring from training in 2004, Allain lived on a small property near Montreal, but had been known to visit Woodbine and he kept in touch with many fellow horsepeople.

Allain passed away this weekend at the age of 91, about four years after he lost his wife Margaret.

Statistics aside–533 wins from 4,341 starters and earners of over $11.6 million–Allain was well respected, soft spoken and proud of his horses and his staff. He will be missed.

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Morrison: Tribute To A War Horse And A Wake-Up Call

In his first four years of racing, New York-bred Hit It Once More was a multiple stakes winner of more than $550,000. Over the last two seasons, however, the 7-year-old son of Hard Spun was winless in 16 starts, with just a second-place finish to show as he steadily dropped down the class ladder, eventually winding up in state-bred claiming competition carrying a $25,000 tag.

On Dec. 19, Hit It Once More ran his last race, his 49th, suffering a catastrophic injury in deep stretch under jockey Luis Rodriguez Castro. The Equibase chart described the incident as follows: “HIT IT ONCE MORE … got put to coaxing at the three-eighths, went six to seven wide into upper stretch, was under light handling when bobbling heavily just outside the sixteenth pole, hobbled injured through to the finish the rider paused, then continued to gallop out a sixteenth past the wire before losing the rider then jogged off to the midway point on the clubhouse turn in distress before being apprehended by the outrider and was subsequently vanned off.”

Hit It Once More was later euthanized, the 21st horse to die from a racing injury this year at New York Racing Association tracks.

Jennifer Morrison, writing for the Canadian Thoroughbred, juxtaposed the death of Hit It Once More against the “tremendous gains (that) have been made in horse welfare awareness,” adding that “it is certain that the majority of horsepeople have deep love and respect for the racehorse.”

Morrison wrote that the FBI probe and federal indictments of trainers, veterinarians and others for doping violations earlier this year “have been a huge wake-up call to the industry that has struggled with public perception.”

Nevertheless, she wrote, “sad and avoidable incidents continue.

“It begins with owners and trainers,” Morrison wrote, “but racetracks and race offices and veterinarians and jockeys must wake up.”