The Canadian Sportsman
Lee Way
Back To Lee WayOctober 29, 2010
Yes, it’s been a good year everywhere for Ron Burke’s stable. With $15.5 million in purses, the sport’s leading trainer can’t really complain about anywhere he’s hung his hat in 2010, but he’s a little partial to Canada, nonetheless.
And why not? In 24 Canadian starts this year, Burke has a record of 7-3-6 with $1,282,000 in purses — an average of $53,416 every time a Burke horse came north to race.
Moreover, the list of great Canadian stakes he won in just a five-month stretch would be a career for most trainers. Thanks to Won The West, Buck I St Pat and three-year-old trotter Sing Jesse Sing, Burke knocked off the $780,000 Canadian Pacing Derby and $312,000 Molson Pace (Won The West), $376,000 Armbro Flight and $115,500 Earl Rowe Memorial (Buck I St Pat) and $387,000 Goodtimes (Sing Jesse Sing).
Beyond that, when he wanted to leave a horse in Canada to race for a spell, he entrusted them to Ontario trainer Dave Menary, which quickly became another successful Canadian venture for Burke.
He’s been impressed with Menary’s work, especially as it pertains to a couple of Camluck-sired, three-year-old pacers, Big Bay Point and Good Bad Lucky (both owned by the Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC).
Big Bay Point has earned $225,000 this season from seven wins with a mark of 1:49. In July, he won his division of the Canadian Breeders Championship and currently ranks fifth in the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold standings. For his part, Good Bad Lucky recently finished second in the $100,000 OSS Grassroots Final at Western Fair.
“The connection with David, with racing some up there and leaving some up there to race has been great,” said Burke. He’s done unbelievable well and he’s just a sharp guy who does a really great job.”
In the wake of such a successful season, Burke is thinking seriously about a future where Canada might one day get his undivided attention. And it’s not because he’s on a hot streak in the Great White North. It’s because he’s betting on Canada’s racing future.
“We are going to keep coming up (to Canada) more and more. The thing I like about it is that I think Canada is the one place that I feel confident that there’s going to be racing for a long time due to the fact that people still embrace the racing aspect of it where not every track down here (in the U.S.) do you get that feeling,” said Burke.
“I still think we are going to have a full-time presence (in Canada) soon because you can stable at one training centre and you can ship to five different tracks. Our barn is set up for that more than anybody’s barn because we race from five-claimers to Breeders Crown horses. So it really is tempting for us to come up there full-time.
“Everywhere we go, we’re treated great. The money’s great and I really do believe that the Canadian product will be around for a long time. You know, I’m only 40 so I’ve got to stretch this out for a while yet,” he said, with a laugh.
“I’m thinking I might export myself.”
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