Ride of a Lifetime
Glen Crouter, a fellow Rotarian and well known sportscaster, introduced Sandy Hawley as our Guest Speaker on November 14th. Glen is a member of the Mississauga Airport Rotary Club. Sandy Hawley is, without a doubt, one of the greatest race-riders ever produced in Canada.
The following is an excerpt from Sandy's on-line biography: The complete biography may be found at www.sandyhawley.com
Hawley, a brilliant athlete and ambassador for the sport of Thoroughbred racing, has set new standards for jockeys. In the high stakes environment of racing. He currently ranks eighth among jockeys in career wins, and has been called the crown prince of the "Sport of Kings".
Sandy Hawley was born April 16, 1949 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. He started his career in 1966 as a 17-year-old boy, hot walking horses at a Toronto racetrack. Two years later, he became a regular rider at racetracks in Ontario.
Hawley won his first career race aboard Fly Alone on October 14, 1968 at Woodbine, going on to win three more races in a modest first year. Hawley went on to become North America's top apprentice jockey in 1969 and then led in victories for the years 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1976. In 1970 he was the continent's leading race-winning jockey with 452 wins. In 1972 he tallied another North American title with 367 wins, and in the 1973 season, he became the first jockey to ever win 500 races in one year breaking Bill Shoemaker's record. He closed the 1973 season with 515 wins.
Hawley won the Lou Marsh Trophy in 1973 and 1976 as Canada's top athlete and was decorated with the Order of Canada, the country's highest individual civilian honour for outstanding accomplishments by a citizen.
Sandy Hawley's most significant race has been not on the back of a thoroughbred but against virulent skin cancer. Diagnosed with skin cancer in 1987, doctors only gave him a few months to live but he fought to overcome the disease with experimental drugs, a careful high-fiber diet, and his sheer determination. Hawley now has a clean bill of health, but receives a series of vaccine shots once a year in California.
After his retirement from racing in 1998 Hawley began a new career as a public relations ambassador for the Ontario Jockey Club. He is also an active volunteer with CARD, the Community Association for Riding for the Disabled. CARD is, a charitable, nonprofit, volunteer organization, established in 1969, that provides therapeutic riding for people with disabilities.
Sandy currently resides in Pickering, Ontario with his wife, Lisa, and sons, Bradley and Russell.