Special Sovereign Award: ROBERT “RED” MCKENZIE
After more than 80 years working in horse racing in Alberta, you might think that Robert ‘Red’ McKenzie has done it all. A former jockey, and then successful trainer, who has won some 1,600 races, Robert landed in the record books the evening of June 23, 2023 when his mare Entitled Star won a claiming race at Century Mile. At the age of 96, he became the oldest trainer to saddle a winner in Canadian racing history when his mare circled the field as the longest shot on the board at 25-1.
Considering Thoroughbred racing statistics are hard to come by before 1976, the official number of winners for Robert as a jockey, trainer, and owner, could be much higher than 1,600. But what is known is that the Alberta resident, who was born Jan. 1, 1927, was still bringing horses over to race in 2023. Robert loved horses and started riding at the age of 10 at a riding academy in Edmonton. He accompanied his father and sister to the racetrack and started riding races at bush tracks such as Ponoka, Rimbey, and Red Deer. When he turned 16 and was old enough to ride the ‘A’ tracks, he would travel throughout the Western Canada Association which included tracks in Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Saskatoon.
Bloodhorse – Fev Rover Honored as Canada’s Horse of the Year
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.