In harness-racing, Richard Moreau’s name has hit the inner circle.
The transplanted Quebecer, who established his modern 50-acre horse-training facility in Puslinch Township, was recently named Trainer of the Year by Standardbred Canada at its 2013 O’Brien awards.
Moreau is proud of the award, but not the public notoriety surrounding a year that saw his horses capture $3,625,680 in purse winnings for their owners.
He was chosen as Trainer of the Year based on votes from public relations and media professionals who cover harness racing, said Jeff Renton, website News editor with Standardbred Canada.
Moreau’s stable posted 279 race wins to earn harness racing’s top purse ranking.
He also earned training titles across Ontario at Georgian Downs, Grand River Raceway, Mohawk Racetrack, The Raceway at Western Fair District and Woodbine Racetrack.
Moreau topped the Canadian trainer standings with $3.5 million in earnings and 270 wins.
He celebrated the biggest win of his career this past season when Boomboom Ballykeel captured the Metro Pace at Mohawk Racetrack.
“The highlight of my season last year was at Mohawk,” he said in a recent interview.
It was in September that Boomboom Ballykeel’s posted an upset victory to take top spot in the $683,000 Metro Pace final at the track.
“A major stakes win was about the only thing missing on trainer Richard Moreau’s CV (curriculum vitae),” noted a News release from Standardbred Canada after the win.
The victory meant the horse’s owner received a $341,500 purse or 50 percent of the total winnings. Winnings are divided between the five top-placing horses with the fifth place receiving 5% of the total purse.
The 2013 season marked the 14th consecutive year Moreau’s stable has surpassed the $1-million mark in purse earnings.
In January 2013 he celebrated his 4,000th training triumph after a pair of his pupils – Amazing Quest and Windsun T Bird – entered the winner’s circle.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Moreau, then 48, said at the time.
“It’s a goal that I’ve tried to reach. Now that I have, I’ll just turn the page and hopefully wait for 5,000.”
Moreau joined Hillsburgh’s Jeff Gillis as one of three finalists for the 2012 O’Brien Award as Canada’s top trainer.
Also in 2012, Moreau captured his second Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) training title, with 132 victories.
He was also the leading dash winner at Georgian Downs and Grand River Raceway.
Throughout his career Moreau’s troops have amassed over $31.6 million in purses.
He downplays the winnings, of which his business gets a small percentage, noting instead his facility is among many first-class training facilities in the area.
He was a tenant for several years at the training facility next door to his, owned by Jamie and Barb Millier.
“Richard was a tenant at our farm, Classy Lane Stables, for a few years before purchasing his own farm,” Jamie Millier said of Moreau.
“Richard was a great tenant and learned a lot about maintaining a track and training facility while he was here. He has since built his farm into a beautiful facility. We were sorry to see him leave, but very happy for him that he had his own place.”
Moreau has 10 employees working for him, with most days starting early as horses arrive at the stable or are prepared for the day.
The stable can handle about 50 horses at its peak times, but usually has about 30.
“I don’t own these horses,” Moreau said. “I offer my services for the owner of the horse, train and get them ready to race.”
“The better you do, the more business,” he added.
The horses are groomed, fed and trained with stable workers taking on about five horses each, depending on how many are being housed.
Moreau said he looks forward daily to the time when the horses are “turned out” to pasture.
The farm was purchased five years ago from a foreign owner who experienced financial difficulty and was forced to sell.
Moreau chose the location because it is a short distance from Highway 6, but also for its easy and close access to a number of racetracks. That means less travel for horses on race day.
“It’s well situated,” he said of the facility. “The main thing about here is it’s quiet, relaxing and good for the horses.”
Most evenings he can be found at a racetrack, watching the horses he has trained compete. It’s all part of running a business he has carved out from scratch.
“I race every night,” he said.
The trainer is confident the horse racing industry is strong enough to weather the difficulties brought on by the provincial government’s cancellation of its Revenue from Slots program that provided purse money to tracks.
“They have to adjust,” he added, referring to changes in funding and how the industry promotes itself.
That success will hinge on those involved: owners, trainers, drivers, tracks and associated businesses and organizations working together.
He hopes his stable can help horse owners make their “dreams come true” in producing purse-winning horses.
