The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame announced April 7 the additions of five individuals and five horses, led by Tepin, remembered as the "Queen of the Turf."
Joining Tepin, Thoroughbred inductees include Sue Leslie as a Builder, jockey Gary Boulanger, trainer Michael Keogh, and equine sprinter Play the King. Representing Standardbreds in the class of 2020 are driver Paul MacDonell, trainer Ben Wallace, female horse Amour Angus, male horse McWicked, and veteran horse Rambling Willie.
Tepin, twice an Eclipse Award winner as North American's champion female turf horse in 2015-16, won six grade/group 1s, doing so in Canada, England, and the United States. In 2015 she won the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) against the boys and the following year, in her final year of racing, she triumphed in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot. The daughter of Bernstein's final career victory came in the 2016 Ricoh Woodbine Mile (G1) for trainer Mark Casse and owner Robert Masterson.
Veteran jockey Gary Boulanger, like Tepin, experienced success in the U.S. as well as in Canada. He began his riding career in 1987, spending his early years at tracks in the U.S. and earning leading jockey status at Longacres Racetrack (1989-91) and Calder Race Course (1994-95). In 2000 Boulanger returned to Canada, riding primarily at Woodbine. In 2005 he suffered what could have been a career-ending injury in a racing accident at Gulfstream Park, but ultimately returned to the track in 2013. The 2017 Avelino Gomez Memorial Award recipient continues to ride and has to date won 3,610 races, including 42 graded stakes, and earnings of nearly $80 million.
As the longtime private trainer for Hall of Fame Builder Gus Schickedanz, Mike Keogh is a two-time Queen's Plate-winning trainer, first with Woodcarver in 1999 and then with Canadian Triple Crown champion Wando in 2003. During that Canadian Triple Crown-winning season, Keogh also trained stablemate Mobil , who would earn a Sovereign Award the next year at age 4. Keogh also trained Canadian Hall of Famer Langfuhr, the Sovereign-Award-winning sprinter of 1996. Since 1993, Mike Keogh's record includes 2,689 starts with 330 wins and over $21.5 million in earnings.
Play the King, a son of King of Spain trained by Roger Attfield for breeder/owner Kinghaven Farms, won 15 of 29 starts and earned just shy of $1 million. He was honored with multiple Sovereign Awards in Canada in 1987-88, including Canadian Horse of the Year for his achievements in 1988, which included a runner-up finish that year in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs.
Leslie, a longtime proponent of horsepeople across all facets of the horse racing industry, has chaired or directed numerous organizations in Canada. She was honored in 2011 with a special Sovereign Award for her dedicated work and leadership.
Details about 2020 induction ceremonies will be announced in the coming weeks. Additional information about the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame may be found at www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com.