A well-known advocate of the Ontario horse racing industry is being inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
Elmira veterinarian Ted Clarke, the unassuming general manager at Grand River Raceway in Elora, will be officially inducted into the hall at a ceremony on Aug. 6 at the Mississauga convention centre.
The award recognizes Clarke’s work in the industry, where he has worked as a veterinarian, race horse owner and, since early 2000, general manager of the Grand River Raceway.
“It’s certainly a marvelous honour,” Clarke told the Advertiser in an interview on April 14.
Colleague Hugh Mitchell, CEO of the Western Fair Association, mentioned “four Cs” to sum up Clarke’s contributions to the horse racing industry: commitment, cleverness, character and caring.
“In his own quiet way, he’s a visionary,” said Mitchell. “His integrity is beyond reproach … [and] he’s demonstrated a sincere caring for all stakeholders.”
Mitchell, who like Clarke manages a racetrack run by an agricultural society, said he was very pleased to hear of Clarke’s induction.
“Ted’s a very deserving inductee,” Mitchell said. “In many ways he’s been a great builder for this industry.”
Clarke has been a key player in horse racing since becoming a veterinarian in the early 1970s. He’s worked at promoting and building the industry and assisted in the planning and subsequent building and operation of the Grand River Raceway, which officially opened to gambling in late 2003.
He has also worked with industry partners in establishing a new program to replace the former Slots at Racetrack program abandoned by the provincial government in 2012. Under the new program, the government will provide $100 million annually for five years in purse money to the province’s race tracks.
“Can it work? That still remains to be seen,” he said of the industry’s future. “We think the concept is solid. I think everybody is pretty sure it will go.”
Clarke credits Grand River staff and colleagues in the industry with helping him garner the nomination to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
For more on Clarke’s achievements read the feature in the Equine section in next week’s Wellington Advertiser.
