David K. Clark (born October 23, 1953) is an English-Canadian jockey. Born in Blaydon, County Durham, England, Clark made his career in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding professionally at Ontario racetracks in 1973 and went on to become one of Canada's most successful jockeys of all-time.
Clark won the 1998 Sovereign Award as Canadian Champion Jockey and on July 17 of that year he tied a record set by Sandy Hawley in 1974 when he won six consecutive races at Woodbine Racetrack. In 1999 Clark was voted the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award. Among his more than 2,900 career wins, Clark has twice won Canada's most prestigious race, the Queen's Plate. The first coming in 1981 aboard Fiddle Dancer Boy and his second in 1985 on La Lorgnette. David also won the 1984 Breeders' Stakes (on Bounding Away) to bring his win total in Canadian Classic Races to three.
Divorced with two daughters, David Clark's daughter Cory followed in his footsteps and in 2000 she won the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey. In 2003 at the Prince of Wales Stakes, David and Cory became the first father and daughter to compete against one another in a Canadian Triple Crown race. [1]
On May 16, 2006, Clark was detained by York Regional Police after a traffic collision near Kleinburg, Ontario that resulted in the death of 34-year-old school teacher Suzanne Mizuno [2] and injuries to her brother Jamie and himself. [3] He was charged with impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, and a blood alcohol content exceeding the legal limit. [4] He had a blood alcohol content between 0.12 and 0.17, above the legal limit of 0.08 in Ontario. [5]
After a preliminary hearing in 2007, he was ordered to stand trial on all charges. [6] His lawyer David Humphrey [7] stated he would plead not guilty. [4] In April 2008 he pleaded guilty to two of those charges, impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm. [8] [5] The other three charges were dropped. [9]
Crown prosecutor Paul Tait [5] had sought at least a three-year jail sentence. [10] In November 2008, Clark was sentenced to two years less a day of house arrest followed by two years probation, was required to do 240 hours of community service, and was prohibited from driving for three years. [8] [11]
The King's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race and the oldest continuously run race in North America, having been founded in 1860. It is run at a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles for a maximum of 17 three-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada.
Desmond Sandford "Sandy" Hawley, is a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey.
Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track was opened in 1956 with a one-mile oval dirt track, as well as a seven-eights turf course. It has been extensively remodeled since 1993, and since 1994 has had three racecourses.
Jacob William Hoggard is a Canadian former musician who was the lead singer for the pop-rock band Hedley. Before Hedley was formed, Hoggard competed on the second season of Canadian Idol in 2004 when he placed third.
The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to only three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of 1+3⁄16 miles. In 1959, the Prince of Wales Stakes became the second race in the Canadian Triple Crown series. It follows the August running of the King's Plate and precedes the Breeders' Stakes in October.
The Breeders' Stakes is a stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses foaled in Canada, first run in 1889. Since 1959, it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, the Breeders' Stakes follows the August running of the King's Plate and the September running of the Prince of Wales Stakes. At a distance of one-and-a-half miles, the Breeders' Stakes is the longest of the three Triple Crown races and is the only jewel raced on turf.
The Achievement Stakes was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. An allowance race restricted to three-year-old horses foaled in the province of Ontario, it was run on Tapeta synthetic dirt over a distance of six furlongs.
Dean Russell McKeown is a retired British Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He embarked on his professional career as a teenager, earning his first win in 1977. While never a Champion jockey, McKeown has won a number of important Conditions races in the United Kingdom including three editions of the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket Racecourse. He also won the Ebor Handicap (2002) and Chester Cup (2003) aboard Hugs Dancer then in the fall of 2004 became the regular jockey for trainer Alan Swinbank where he became an integral part of the racing success of Collier Hill. Throughout his career he earned a reputation for being one of the most astute form judges in the weighing-room.
David Penna was an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing who competed in the United States but had his greatest successes in Canada.
Knob Hill Stable was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding operation established by Toronto, Ontario businessman Steve Stavro. Stavro's interest in horse racing began in 1967 when he acquired a pair of yearlings – Boy Bandit and Danforth Dan. They were conditioned by J. C. Meyer. However, It wasn't until the early 1980s that Stavro became passionate about thoroughbreds. As his passion grew, he founded Knob Hill Stable in Newmarket, Ontario. At the peak of Knob Hill Stables, there were more than 60 horses, which included 15 or more racers at Woodbine Racetrack. Stable standouts were Molson Million winner Benburb, Canadian International Stakes winner Thornfield, Sovereign Award champion Leonnatus Anteas and Prince of Wales Stakes winner Alezzandro.
The Colin Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the later half of July at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Open to two-year-old horses, it is contested over a distance of 6 furlongs on Tapeta and currently carries a purse of $95,800.
The Shepperton Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early August at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. An Ontario Sire Stakes, it is a restricted race for horses age three and older. Raced on all-weather synthetic dirt over a distance of six and one-half furlongs, the Shepperton Stakes currently carries a purse of $100,000.
The Canadian Triple Crown is a series of three Thoroughbred horse races run annually in Canada which is open to three-year-old horses foaled in Canada. Established in 1959, the series is unique in that it shares the same distances as its American counterpart but is contested on three different track surfaces.
David Cotey is a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Near the beginning of the 1990s, he formed the nom de course Dominion Bloodstock to purchase and race Thoroughbreds with partners Hugh Galbraith and Derek Ball. In 2001, he began his training career, earning his first win on May 25 then a few months later the Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 2002, he won the Canadian Derby at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alberta. Cotey was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Impaired driving is the term used in Canada to describe the criminal offence of operating, having care or the control of a motor vehicle while the person's ability to operate the motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or a drug. Impaired driving is punishable under multiple offences in the Criminal Code, with greater penalties depending on the harm caused by the impaired driving. It can also result in various types of driver's licence suspensions.
Lauries Dancer was a Canadian National Champion and Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racemare who won top races in Canada and the United States.
Mickey K. Walls is a retired Thoroughbred horse racing jockey who was a Champion in both the United States and Canada.
The Fanfreluche Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Restricted to two-year-old fillies foaled in Ontario, it is contested on dirt over a distance of six furlongs.
Joshua Tree is an Irish thoroughbred stallion, bred by Castlemartin Stud And Skymarc Farm. He is sired by Montjeu. He is a four time Group 1 winner, having earned £2.4m ($3.8m) in his racing career. Joshua Tree is the only horse to have ever won the Gr.1 Pattison Canadian International Stakes three times: in 2010, 2012 and 2013. Joshua also won the Gr. 2 Royal Lodge in Ascot at the age of two, the Gr. 2 Prix Kergorlay in Deauville, the Gr. 1 International Invitational cup in Qatar, and the Irish Stallion Farms maiden stakes in Ireland. He came second in the Gr. 1 Canadian International in 2011, Second in the Gr. 2 Princess of Wales's stakes in Newmarket, second in the Gr. 2 Prix Kergorlay in Deauville and second in the gr. 3 Dubai Gold Cup. Joshua Tree is owned by K Nabooda and K Albahou. He stands at Stud in France.
Luis Contreras is a Mexican jockey since 2006. After starting his career in Mexico, Contreras started competing in the United States and Canada during the late 2000s. For his graded stakes race career, Contreras has won thirty six Grade III races, twenty two Grade II races and four Grade I races. At the 2011 Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Contreras won the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and Breeders' Stakes. He became the first jockey to use two horses to win the Canadian Triple Crown. In 2014, Contreras came short of another Canadian Triple Crown after finishing tenth at the Breeders' Stakes following wins at the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales.
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