Gil H. Rowntree (born January 17, 1934, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

and owner. One of the most successful trainers in Canadian Thoroughbred racing history, Rowntree embarked on his racing career as a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

in his native Toronto, riding from 1949 through 1951. As a trainer, he learned his conditioning skills as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer and

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

winner,

Lou Cavalaris, Jr. Louis C. "Lou" Cavalaris Jr. (January 30, 1924 - May 2, 2013) was an Americans, American-born horse trainer, trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and who for ten years was a highly respec ...

Rowntree obtained his trainer's licence in 1959 and was hired by Stafford Farms in 196

where he remained until the death of owner John H. Stafford, Jack Stafford in 1981. During his training career, Gil Rowntree won eight

Canadian Classic Races The Canadian Triple Crown (branded as the OLG Canadian Triple Crown for sponsorship reasons) is a series of three Thoroughbred horse races run annually in Canada which is open to three-year-old horses foaled in Canada. Established in 1959, the ser ...

and following the creation of the

Sovereign Award {{refimprove, date=October 2021 The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing. The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Y ...

s program in 1975 he was voted the first-ever winner as Canada's Outstanding Trainer. In 1973, Gil Rowntree set a record when horses he trained ran 1-2-3 in the

Prince of Wales Stakes The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to only three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of miles (1.9 km; ...

, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown series. Although Rowntree has won four editions of Canada's most prestigious race, the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

, he is best known as the trainer of the 1978 Queen's Plate runner-up,

Overskate {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Overskate , image = , caption = , sire = Nodouble , grandsire = Noholme , dam = Overstate , damsire = Speak John , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1975 , country = Canada , colour = Chestnut , breed ...

. The Hall of Fame colt was twice voted

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

as part of his record setting nine Sovereign Awards while competing in Canada and at various tracks in the United States. As well, Rowntree conditioned Canadian champions

Deceit Dancer Deceit Dancer (foaled 1982 in Ontario) is a Canadian Champion filly Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Bred by E. P. Taylor, owner of her sire, Vice Regent, and her dam, Deceit, Deceit Dancer was purchased by Kleinburg, Ontario racing stable o ...

, Proud Tobin, Northern Blossom,

Ten Gold Pots Ten, TEN or 10 may refer to: * 10, an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11 * one of the years 10 BC, AD 10, 1910 and 2010 * October, the tenth month of the year Places * Mount Ten, in Vietnam * Tongren Fenghuang Airport (IATA code ...

, Allan Blue, Key to the Moon, Sound Reason and

Tudor Queen Tudor Queen (foaled 1967 in Kentucky) was a Champion Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse in Canada and the United States. In 1969 she was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly by the Thoroughbred Racing Association. Background Her British ...

, the 1969

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

, and in the pre

era, the de facto Canadian Two Year-Old Champion. Gil Rowntree makes his home near

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

Etobicoke, Ontario Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamation of Toronto, amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 17 ...

and continues to train Thoroughbreds for various owners plus breed, race and train horses for his own Gil Rowntree Racing Stable.

References

Gil Rowntree at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowntree, Gil 1934 births Living people Canadian horse trainers Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Toronto