In the winter of 1973 a group of racetrackers came to the conclusion that the industry had been negligent in its failure to properly honour its pioneers and horses, as well as the contemporary heroes of Canadian racing.
These men – writers, broadcasters, publicists and officials from both the Thoroughbred and Standardbred industry – proclaimed that it was time to pay homage to the people who had built and established the roots of horse racing in Canada. Recognition of their achievements was overdue. It didn’t happen overnight. Three years later, in 1976, Canada’s Horse Racing Hall of Fame was founded when 44 individuals * builders, jockeys, trainers, driver/trainers, Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds – were enshrined.
For 20 years this was a Hall of Fame without a “home”. On August 22, 1997, the dream of those racetrackers of the early 1970’s finally became a reality when the Ontario Jockey Club provided a permanent site without cost at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.
New inductees are added annually to build upon an ever-growing honour roll of Builders, Drivers/Trainers, Jockeys, Standardbreds, Thoroughbreds and Trainers. The annual induction ceremony is a gala event with leading guest speakers, dinner and evening of events.