Canadian Hall of Fame

by the Doyle Family The family of Mike Doyle is deeply saddened to share that he passed away peacefully on December 4, 2025, at the age of 74 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Born in Dublin, Ireland, on October 23, 1951, Mike carried with him a true Irish spirit, warm-hearted, charismatic, and always ready with a story. His passion for horse racing was woven through every chapter of his life. Whether he was at the track, in the barn, or sharing a moment with fellow horse people, Mike found joy and...

Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Mike Doyle has passed away at his winter home in Florida, according to a Woodbine entertainment press release Thursday. He was 74. "On behalf of everyone at Woodbine Entertainment, I want to extend our heartfelt condolences to Mike's family, his friends, and the entire Woodbine racing community," said Michael Copeland, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. "Our sport is built on the strength of the people who dedicate their lives to it, and Mike's contributions to Woodbine racing throughout his career were significant. His accomplishments speak for themselves,...

Sandy Hawley was one of the most successful jockeys of his generation, earning his way into the Canadian and U.S. horse racing hall of fames, and winning championship titles in both countries. But Hawley, the first jockey to ever win 500 races in a single year, grew up knowing nothing about the sport. "I didn't know anything about horses," he tells Ferrin Peterson on this week's Boundless Podcast. "But when I was 16 years old, my uncle said, `you're the right size. You should be a jockey.'" Within a few...

Top stallion Ghostzapper leads the nominees for the 2025 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame finalists which were unveiled Tuesday by the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Standardbred and Thoroughbred Nomination Committees. The Class of 2025 will be comprised of six inductees per breed (thoroughbred and standardbred) and provided the option for a Nomination Committee to use only five categories and induct two individuals in one category to meet the total of six inductees per breed. A 20-person Election Committee for each breed will determine, from the list of...

Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and racetrack superintendent Irwin Driedger was awarded the Racetrack Superintendent's Innovator Award during the 2024 Track Superintendent's Field Day. Irwin passed away on May 20, 2023. The award represents accomplishments from the period of 2006 to 2018 when Irwin was the Director of Thoroughbred Racing Surfaces at Woodbine Racetrack. The Racetrack Superintendent's Innovator Award is given to recognize the critical professionals who maintain the racing surfaces for safety and fairness. Previous recipients of the Racetrack Superintendent's Innovator Award includes Joe King, Leif Dickinson and Dennis...

Owner/breeder Charles E. Fipke, a Canadian geologist and diamond prospector who has made an impact on the sport on both sides of the border, will be inducted as part of the 2022 class in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. The other Thoroughbred inductees include jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva, as well as horses Court Vision (Gulch) and Alydeed (Shadeed). Fipke has been involved in Thoroughbreds for over 40 years. His Sovereign Award winners are all homebreds: Not Bourbon (Not Impossible {Ire}), Impossible Time (Not Impossible {Ire}), Perfect Soul...

Canadian Hall of Fame jockey Don Seymour, who stamped himself one of the nation's leading riders after riding two Triple Crown winners, died June 26 at his home in Barrie, Ontario. Surrounded by his family, including his mother Mary, at the time of his death, he reportedly had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease since earlier this year. He was 59. Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Seymour was a leading rider in Alberta in the 1980s before relocating to ride at Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, Ontario. Best remembered...