Sandy Hawley: small in stature, giant in the saddle
In over three decades, Sandy Hawley won more than 6,000 races and was awarded horse racing's highest honours in both Canada and the United States.
Though he never felt like it at the time, Sandy Hawley was always the smallest kid in his class, and via his own admission, by far. Never letting his size hinder him, he played as many sports as he could. Paradoxically, Sandy seemed to gravitate towards the positions that taller players excelled at.
Amazingly, I played first base in baseball. My dad was the coach of the team so I guess that’s how I get to play first base. I was a goaltender in hockey. My head came up to the top of the crossbar and that was it.
He was rejected from his high school football team, but when he found out that his school had a wrestling team with a 98-lb weight class, Sandy jumped at the opportunity. In what turned out to be a glimpse of his sport successes to come, Sandy excelled in the sport, making it to the All-Ontario semi-finals. It was the first test that sport had in store for him.
After a recommendation from his uncle to give jockey racing a try after high school, an undecided Sandy really took to the idea. Fortunately for the Oshawa native, the iconic Windfields Farm was only a stone’s throw away.
The legendary stable is well-documented within the stories of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. It was E.P. Taylor’s first breeding operation, and the birthplace of Northern Dancer. Ron Turcotte got his start there walking horses and mucking stalls.
Now, it was Sandy Hawley’s turn.
He spent a couple years helping out at the farm, grooming and exercising the horses. His riding career began on October 14, 1968, at Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack. In 1969, he was named North America's top apprentice and the following year became North America's winningest jockey—a feat he achieved again in 1972, 1973, and 1976.
In 1973, Sandy became the first rider ever to win 500 races in a year. This achievement earned him the Lou Marsh Award (now the Northern Star Award) as Canada’s top athlete, which he won again in 1976, the same year he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.
That same year, in the U.S., Santa Anita Park awarded him the George Woolf Memorial Award and he won the Eclipse Award as North America's top jockey. In 1986, Sandy won his 5,000th career race at Canterbury Downs and, two years later, he returned to the Ontario racing circuit after a decade in Southern California. At the time of his retirement, his achievements in Canadian thoroughbred racing included the most wins in the Queen's Plate (four, tied) and the Canadian Oaks (eight), along with two Sovereign Awards for Canada's top jockey (1978, 1988). He won 18 titles at Woodbine Racetrack, a track which honoured him in 1986 with the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award.
Sandy capped a remarkable 31-year career with a final ride, fittingly on July 1, 1998, at Woodbine—finishing third aboard Terremoto in the Grade III Dominion Day Stakes. This was the last of his 31,455 mounts, 6,449 of which had been winners (to go along with 4,825 seconds and 4,159 thirds) and added to his career total of $88,681,292 in purse earnings. He is a member of both Canada's Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the National Museum of Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame.
Sandy Hawley was awarded the Order of Sport and inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
La fiche de Sandy Hawley en tant que jockey sur les circuits du sud de l’Ontario et du sud de la Californie fait partie intégrante de l’histoire des pistes de courses. Au cours d’un peu plus de trois décennies, Hawley remporte plus de 6 000 courses et reçoit les plus hautes distinctions honorifiques en courses hippiques au Canada et aux États-Unis.
En 1966, Sandy commence à travailler aux hippodromes où il fait marcher les chevaux. Sa carrière équestre débute deux ans plus tard, le 14 octobre 1968, à l’hippodrome de Woodbine de Toronto. Il est nommé le meilleur apprenti d’Amérique du Nord en 1969 et l’année suivante, est le jockey à monter le plus de gagnants en Amérique du Nord – un exploit qu’il reprendra encore en 1972, 1973 et 1976. En 1973, il devient le premier jockey à remporter 500 courses en une année. Cet exploit lui vaut le Trophée Lou-Marsh, qu’il remporte à nouveau en 1976, en plus d’être décoré de l’Ordre du Canada. Au cours de cette même année, il reçoit le George Woolf Memorial Award du Santa Anita Park aux États-Unis, et le Prix Éclipse du Meilleur jockey en Amérique du Nord.
Il remporte la 5 000e course de sa carrière en 1986 à Canterbury Downs et, deux années plus tard, revient sur le circuit ontarien après une décennie dans le sud de la Californie. Parmi ses nombreux exploits en courses de pur-sang au Canada on compte le plus de victoires au Queen’s Plate (quatre victoires, une égalité), au Canadian Oaks (huit), ainsi que deux Sovereign Awards du Meilleur jockey au Canada (1978, 1988). Il gagne dix-huit titres à l’hippodrome Woodbine, une piste qui lui rend hommage en 1986 en lui décernant la Bourse commémorative Avelino-Gomez.
Comme il se doit, il couronne sa remarquable carrière de 31 années par une dernière course à Woodbine le 1er juillet 1988 – terminant troisième derrière Terremoto dans la Classique de niveau III de la fête du Dominion. Ce sera la dernière de ses 31 455 montures, dont 6 449 auront été gagnantes (en plus des 4 825 deuxièmes et 4 159 troisièmes places), pour un total de bourses remportées en carrière de 88 681 292 $. Il est membre du Canada’s Horse Racing Hall of Fame ainsi que du National Museum of Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame.