E.P. Taylor was a pillar in the Canadian financial community, but arguably none of his accomplishments exceeded his contributions to the "sport of kings."
In the postwar days of the late 1940s, he parlayed monies from his acquisition and expansion of commercial enterprises to horse ownership and breeding.
He did so with abundant energy, extraordinary financial foresight, and the fortitude to take on risks. Whether it was traditional business or the business of racing, only the very best was satisfactory.
Back in the day, he rescued Ontario horse racing from its decaying state and consolidated as many as seven small racetracks into three larger, refurbished ones, of which the new Woodbine, on the northwest outskirts of Toronto, was the prize.
I am reminded of Mr. Taylor this weekend, as Woodbine prepares to host this year's renewal of the Breeders' Stakes. That's because he cherished races contested on the turf, especially at long distance. The Breeders' Stakes is one of those and, in 1963, his homebred named Canebora was victorious – the final jewel in Canada's Triple Crown.
As a horse breeder, Mr. Taylor would go on to be North America's leader from 1960-69 in races won and, in two of those years, leading money-winning breeder.
He bred 178 stake winners in total.
Canebora was one of those.
Canebora, led by E.P. Taylor with jockey Manuel Ycaza aboard, following the 1963 Breeders’ Stakes.
Woodbine Archives/Michael Burns Photography
A plain brown colt born in late May of 1960 at the finest and most renowned equine nursery in the country – Mr. Taylor's Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ont. – Canebora was a late foal by industry standards.
All thoroughbreds have a universal birthday: Jan. 1. They become a year older as of that date, although chronologically their actual birthdays are later.
So, his first year was spent just trying to catch up to those foals born in the weeks and months before. That's because the difference in physical development between one born, for example , in February or March is dramatically different from one foaled in late May or June.
The later ones tend to be smallish anyway and simply need time to close the gap. Or maybe it has a lot to do with first-time broodmares delivering later for some reason, too.
Mr. Taylor annually offered all his yearlings for sale, with a reserved price in most cases. It was no different in 1961.
Our star could be purchased for the paltry sum (by today's measure certainly) of $7,500 but was rejected by every potential buyer who laid eyes on him.
It wouldn't be the first or last time a bargain buy was available as at least five other Queen's Plate winners went unsold in years previous – the famous Northern Dancer, for one.
But that wasn't the only thing Canebora had to overcome.
There was that question about his pedigree: As in, "Who's your Daddy"?
On his official registration papers, it reads: "… sired by either Navy Page or Canadian Champ." That means Canebora's dam [mother] was bred to both stallions and, not having the sophisticated methods of today's DNA, who really knew back then?
Perhaps the late sports columnist Dick Beddoes of The Globe and Mail said it best after the horse won the 1963 Queen's Plate Stakes: "Canebora cannot identify his sire for the incontestable reason that his mother was the equine equivalent of a bigamist. Her name was Menebora and in 1959 she had barnyard romances with equine gentlemen called Navy Page and Canadian Champ. Canebora was foaled eleven months later. Canebora's old man, whoever he is, could whinny with pride after Saturday's romp."
But it was generally conceded by those in the know that Canebora, in fact, looked a lot like Canadian Champ and acted like his siblings.
Besides, his name is taken from both sire and dam in combination – so let's go with that.
Canada's most famous race itself, the aforementioned 104th rendition of the '63 Queen's Plate, wasn't without its share of controversy.
Canebora was a participant.
About three weeks before, a horse named Jet Traffic was barred from the race due to what many thought was a flimsy clerical technicality. Apparently, the horse had been nominated and had its required payment made by someone not properly designated to do so.
Many horse people and race-goers alike were dismayed that the race favourite was eliminated from competing; Jet Traffic posed a serious threat to Mr. Taylor's chances of winning yet another renewal.
As it was, a Taylor-owned and bred horse had captured the big race just the year before. But wait, it got better. Who would ride Canebora?
Racing fans were further upset when jockey Hugo Dittfach, a local favourite, was replaced at seemingly the last minute by Panamanian star Manny Ycaza, a fiery and talented rider based in New York.
Dittfach had won the Plate Trial aboard Canebora in his previous start and was in disbelief when trainer "Pete" McCann delivered the news.
He would ride the other of Windfields' two-horse entries instead.
Canebora got the job done under Ycaza and helped continue Mr. Taylor's growing monopoly of the Plate, having then bred 12 of the past 15 winners, eight of whom raced in his own silks.
So, Mr. Taylor was roundly booed by the locals as he stood in the winner's circle yet again.
As for Canebora, he might have heard that sound before.
However, there was no mistake about one thing he didn't hear. It was that of the bugle calling horses to the post, a tradition before every race.
He simply hated it. Out of deference to him, it was never played when he raced.
The horse would go on to win both the 1963 Prince of Wales at Fort Erie, second jewel of Canada's Triple Crown and the final leg at Woodbine, the Breeders' Stakes .
Dittfach found his way back on Canebora and won the former while Ycaza returned again from the U.S. to take the latter. All of this was sandwiched between Flaming Page's racing brilliance in '62 and the iconic Northern Dancer in 1964.
Much of Mr. Taylor's success was ultimately due to his tremendous business acumen. First elected in 1947 to the board of the Ontario Jockey Club, as it was then known, he was able to persuade fellow directors such as J. A. (Bud) McDougald, chairman and president of Argus Corp, and Colonel R.S. (Sam) McLaughlin, president of General Motors of Canada, to embrace his vision of world-class racing in the province.
While both men were indeed wealthy and influential in their own right, they were initially shocked by the magnitude and expense of Mr. Taylor's plan.
But in the end, Mr. Taylor gained their trust along with other stakeholders because they knew his imagination and resourceful ways meant the path to prosperity was assured.
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