Curtis Stock and Harold Barroby to Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Curtis Stock
Originally from London, Ont., Curtis Stock’s affection for the horses, jockeys, trainers, and horse people in general is reflected in his writing, He began to follow racing in Calgary during his high school days, and gained valuable experience covering racing there while attending college.

That soon led to an opportunity in Toronto, working with honored Canadian Horse Hall of Fame member Bruce Walker in the Ontario Jockey Club Publicity Department. Stock later returned to Alberta and take over publicity, marketing, and advertising at Northlands Park in Edmonton, later moving to the Edmonton Journal where he covered racing for 32 years. He also plied his craft for the Daily Racing Form for 20 years.

Stock’s reporting has resonated with the judges in Sovereign Award voting. His record run of Sovereigns started in 1985. In 1993, he swept both feature story and newspaper categories. Stock was the recipient of back-to-back Sovereign Awards for outstanding feature story in 1993-94, and took home an unprecedented eighth Sovereign Award for outstanding newspaper story in Canada.

Most recently Stock was the recipient of the 2015 Sovereign Award in the outstanding writing category. His story “Love of Horses” appeared earlier that year in the Edmonton Journal. It was his 11th Sovereign Award overall. He has received this most-coveted award at least once in each of the past five decades, an achievement unmatched.

Harold Barroby a native of Ravenscrag, Saskatchewan, followed his older brother Frank to Alberta, to become leading trainer in 1969 and 1970 before moving further west to British Columbia in 1974. There, the great Love Your Host won 13 stakes under his tutelage, and horses Pampas Host and Delta Colleen were both multiple stakes winners.

B.C’s leading trainer a record 10 times and previously inducted into the B.C. Thoroughbred Hall of Fame, Barroby remains the all-time leader in terms of wins and stakes wins there, inlcuding graded stake wins with Fortinbras in the 1986 British Columbia Derby (G3) and 1986 B.C. Premier’s Championship Handicap (G3).

While he remains an active trainer, he’s operating with fewer horses these days. Barroby now joins his brother Frank as a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Bloodhorse – Melnyk Heads Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Class