Gordon J. "Pete" McCann (1908 – January 18, 2000) was 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 ...
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 ...
horse 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 ...
. He was born in
East York
East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...
, now part of the city of
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 ...
. Known to his family as Gordon, in racing circles he was nicknamed Pete.
Pete McCann began his 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 ...
. He raced at
Oriental Park Racetrack
Oriental Park Racetrack in Marianao, Havana, Cuba, was a thoroughbred horse-racing facility operated during the winter by the Havana-American Jockey Club of Cuba. Founded in 1915, Oriental Park was the only race track in Cuba in the days before ...
in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. ,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
where he was a leading jockey in 1926. He rode with success in Toronto then in 1940 took out his trainer's license and won his first
King'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 ...
that same year with
Willie the Kid
Willie the Kid (foaled 1937 in Ontario) was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse best known for winning the eighty-first running of the King's Plate, Canada's most important race.
Bred by William F. Morrissey, Willie Morrissey, Willie t ...
.
McCann was hired by
E. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...
as head trainer at
Windfields Farm
Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Origin
The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated w ...
in 1950 where he would spend the next twenty-one years. During his training career, McCann conditioned seven
Canadian Hall of Fame horses and six horses that won
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, ...
honours including
Canadian Triple Crown winners
New Providence
New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...
in 1959 and
Canebora
{{Infobox racehorse
, horsename = Canebora
, image =
, caption =
, sire = Canadian Champ
, grandsire = Windfields
, dam = Menebora
, damsire = Menetrier
, sex = Stallion
, foaled = 1960
, country = Canada
, colour = Brown
, breeder = ...
in 1963. He also trained six winners 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 ...
and overall won seventeen races that now comprise the
Canadian Classics. He also is tied for having trained the most winners with three in the
Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is
Since its creation i ...
.
In 1971, McCann retired from training after Taylor divided the stable into Canadian and United States divisions under separate head trainers. Quickly bored, he returned to racing with a small stable of his own.
McCann was inducted into the
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.
The H ...
in 1979. He died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
at age 91.
References
Gordon J. McCann at the Canadian Horse Racing and Hall of FameJanuary 20, 2000 ''Thoroughbred Times.com'' article titled ''Top trainer McCann dead''Windfields Farm online
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, Gordon J.
Canadian horse trainers
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Toronto
People from East York, Toronto
1908 births
2000 deaths