8/9/2019 Raise a Colt 02 Foreword

1/1

RAISE A COLT

FOREWORD

NORMAN G HALL - AUTHOR

Writing a history book presents a number

of problems not the least of which is

trying to document events, people and

places that are not part of ones personal

history. One must rely on the sometimesquestionable memories of others, previous

documents such as newspaper articles, or

biographical accounts by other authors.

Many times the available information on

individuals or past events is different

depending on the source. In compiling this

book I have sought out the memories of

those who have lived through all or part of

the seventy-five years covered by this

book. There are, thankfully, people like

Allie Carr who can remember the heroes

of his boyhood racing at Covehead and at

the many other tracks that used to dot the

landscape of racing in Prince EdwardIsland in the 1930s.

Another problem that quickly becomes

evident is choosing the people and horses

to be profiled in this book. In the 75-year

history of Colt Stakes racing on PEI there

have been literally thousands of individual

breeders, owners, trainers, drivers and

horses that have participated. Each one of

them has a story to be told but with 75

years and one page per year to do it in you

have to set some priorities. I am sure there

will be people who read this book whowill say Why is that fellow in the book

and not this one? Why is this horse, a

Maritime Champion, not in the book?

The answer is simple. This is a historical

account of Colt Stakes racing on Prince

Edward Island and it features people and

horses that were part of that history, either

as race winners, breeders, owners or

supporters of the PEI Harness Racing

Club or its successor the current PEI

Colts Stakes Association.

I have no doubt that there are MaritimeChampions that never competed or won in

the Island Colt Stakes and there are

prominent owners or breeders who never

won a Colt Stakes race or attended one of

their meetings as a member. I leave it to

someone else to document their

achievements in the broader context of a

history of Maritime racing. The priorities

for inclusion in this book, listed in order,

are as follows:

1. The original founders of the PEI

Harness Racing Club.2. The Past Presidents of both the Club

and the PEI Colt Stakes Association.

3. Honorary directors of the PEI Colt

Stakes.

4. The breeders who have produced at

least five or more Colt Stakes winners.

5. The owners of five or more Colt Stakes

winners.

6. Persons involved with special record

events and current record holders.

7. A select few individuals who were

worthy of inclusion because of their

unique contributions to the sport of

harness racing and their support of ColtStakes racing even if they failed to meet

any of the above criteria.

You will note that for the most part there

are no drivers in the book other than those

who qualify either as owners or breeders

or have been responsible for our current

speed records. Again the reason is simple.

Racing in general cannot exist without the

breeders and owners of young horses who

invest considerable money in sustaining

the sport, as well as contributing the bulk

of the volunteer effort. This book is,therefore, in large part dedicated to those

breeders and owners who rarely get the

recognition they deserve.

The biographical notes on individuals in

this book are not meant to be complete

life stories but rather present a snapshot of

their life involving Colt Stakes racing.

The information in the notes is derived

from various sources such as observations

of people that I knew and had personal

experience with. Some of it comes from

previously written citations, and some hasbeen contributed by family and friends.

While the information may not all be fully

correct in the historical sense, it is

presented, as given, in the hope that it will

give the reader a sense of these peoples

commitment to harness horse racing and

their common bond with standardbred

horses in the Sport of Kings