Desmond Sanford "Sandy" Hawley,
CMThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
(born April 16, 1949 in
Oshawa, OntarioOshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada) is a Hall of Fame
jockeyIn sport, a jockey is one who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing; however, camel jockey profession is slowly being replaced by robotics.-Horse racing:...
.
Sandy Hawley started his career as a 17-year-old boy, hotwalking horses at a Toronto racetrack. Two years later, he became a regular rider at racetracks in
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
and then rode at racetracks on the East Coast of the United States. Hawley became the first jockey to ever lead the Canadian standings in a full season as an apprentice.
Desmond Sanford "Sandy" Hawley,
CMThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
(born April 16, 1949 in
Oshawa, OntarioOshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada) is a Hall of Fame
jockeyIn sport, a jockey is one who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing; however, camel jockey profession is slowly being replaced by robotics.-Horse racing:...
.
Sandy Hawley started his career as a 17-year-old boy, hotwalking horses at a Toronto racetrack. Two years later, he became a regular rider at racetracks in
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
and then rode at racetracks on the East Coast of the United States. Hawley became the first jockey to ever lead the Canadian standings in a full season as an apprentice. In 1969, a time when there were no
SovereignThe 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 Year....
or
Eclipse AwardThe Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
s for jockeys, Hawley rode 230 winners, the most that year of any apprentice jockey in North America. He went on to race in the United States where he led all jockeys in victories for the years 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1976. In the 1973 season, he became the first jockey to ever win 500 races in one year, breaking Bill Shoemaker's record.
Racing in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, Hawley was named the winner of
Santa Anita ParkSanta Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the autumn and in winter. The track is home to numerous prestigious races including both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap...
's prestigious
George Woolf Memorial Jockey AwardThe George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.The award was created...
. Given to a North American rider who demonstrates the highest of standards of personal and professional conduct both on and off the racetrack, Hawley has had the lifelong reputation of being a gentleman and a man of honor. In 1976 he won the
Eclipse Award for Outstanding JockeyThe Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey is an American thoroughbred horse racing honor for jockeys first awarded in 1971. Part of the Eclipse Awards program, it is awarded annually....
in the United States after he broke thoroughbred racing's all-time money-winning record for a single year.
As a boy growing up in Canada, Hawley developed a love for the game of
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
and while riding in California, he got an ice-level job as a penalty timekeeper for the home games of the
Los Angeles KingsThe Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
hockey team, giving himself a great view of his favorite game.
He won the
Lou Marsh TrophyThe Lou Marsh Trophy, also known as the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, with the vote taking place in December. It was first awarded in 1936...
in 1973 and 1976 as Canada’s top athlete and was decorated with the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
, his country’s highest individual civilian honor for outstanding accomplishments by a citizen. In addition to winning a large number of major Stakes races in the United States, four times he won Canada's most prestigious thoroughbred horse race, the
Queen's PlateThe Queen's Plate is North America's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each June at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
. Twice, Hawley won seven races in a single day at Toronto’s
Woodbine RacetrackWoodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
and at Santa Anita Park had six wins in a single day on two occasions. Hawley and
Avelino GomezAvelino Gomez was a Cuban-born Hall of Fame jockey in American and Canadian thoroughbred horse racing.Born in Havana, Gomez began a career as a jockey at the urging of a family member...
each won the
Coronation Futurity StakesThe Coronation Futurity Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old horses foaled in Canada. It is run annually in early November at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario at a distance of 1 1/8 miles on dirt...
a record five times. Gomez won the race four years running between 1964 and 1967. Hawley won the race five out of six years between 1971 and 1976, his streak broken by Gomez's fifth win in 1972.
Hawley's best result in the
Kentucky DerbyThe Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter miles at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ...
was two third place finishes one of which was with
Golden ActGolden Act was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by Gummo, a grandson of Nasrullah who was a son of the extremely important sire, Nearco, he was out of the mare Golden Shore....
in 1979 aboard whom he finished second in both the
PreaknessThe Preakness Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race 1-3/16 mile thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses, held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
and
Belmont StakesThe Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The race is the third and final leg of the Triple Crown, following five weeks after the Kentucky Derby, and three weeks after the Preakness Stakes...
.
Overall, Sandy Hawley's career as a jockey spanned 31 years from 1968 to his retirement on July 1, 1998. He had 31,455 mounts, garnering 6,449 wins and won 18 riding titles at Woodbine Racetrack.
Diagnosed with
skin cancerSkin cancer is a malignant growth on the skin which can have many causes. The most common skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma. Skin cancer generally develops in the epidermis , so a tumor is usually clearly visible. This makes most skin cancers detectable in the...
in 1987, doctors only gave him a few months to live but he fought to overcome the disease with experimental drugs, a careful high-fiber diet, and his sheer determination.
Sandy Hawley was voted the 1986
Avelino Gomez Memorial AwardThe Avelino Gomez Memorial Award is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually to a jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to the sport...
and that same year was inducted into the
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of FameThe Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1978 located at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
. He was inducted into the United States
National Museum of Racing and Hall of FameThe National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
in 1992 and
Canada's Sports Hall of FameCanada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It was located in Toronto from 1955 and is not currently opened to the public, its collection stored in the...
in 1998.
He currently is a Public Relations Ambassador for Woodbine Entertainment Group, and resides in
Oshawa, OntarioOshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe...
with his wife Lisa and two sons, Bradley and Russell. He has worked as an analyst for
The ScoreThe Score Television Network is a Canadian English-language cable television specialty channel providing primarily sports news, highlights, information and analysis programming along with live event sports coverage...
and
CKXT-TVCKXT-TV is an independent broadcast television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station is currently owned by Groupe TVA and Sun Media, both divisions of Quebecor Media...
's horse racing coverage.
Living Legends Race
On October 18, 2008 at Santa Anita Park, Sandy Hawley and seven other U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockeys came out of retirement for the Living Legends Race that officially counted in their career totals and was specially approved for legalized parimutuel wagering. Hawley earned his 6,450th official career victory with a win aboard Tribal Chief, a horse owned by musician/record producer
Herb AlpertHerbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass or just TJB...
and his brother David Alpert.
http://www.santaanita.com/news/pr.php?f=at59livinglegendsandyhawleyaddswinn
Selected major race wins
- Alabama Stakes
The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it currently offers a purse of $600,000.The Alabama...
(1970)
- Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is North America's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each June at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
(1970, 1971, 1975, 1978)
- Prince of Wales Stakes
The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses first run in 1929. In 1959, the Prince of Wales Stakes became the marquis event at the Fort Erie Race Track when it became the second race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-old colts and fillies foaled in...
(1970 & 1975)
- Whitney Handicap
The Whitney Handicap is an American Grade 1 handicap race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of 1 1/8 miles. In 2007, the Breeders' Cup Ltd...
(1975)
- Washington, D.C. International (1975 & 1976)
- Sport Page Handicap
The Sport Page Handicap was an American thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park, Queens, New York for three-year-olds and up...
(1976)
- Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....
(1976 & 1979)
- Man O' War Stakes
The Man o' War Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Now Raced in July, it is a Grade I event offering a purse of $500,000 and is open to horses three-years-old and up. Run at one and three-eighths mile on the grass, the race sometimes attracts top European horses...
(1977)
- San Felipe Stakes
The San Felipe Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The San Felipe is a Grade II event open to three-year-old horses. Normally held in mid-March, it is raced at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on dirt and currently...
(1977, 1979, 1984)
- Breeders' Stakes
The Breeders' Stakes is a Canadian stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses first run in 1889. Since 1959 it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds...
(1972, 1976, 1979, 1988)
- Hollywood Gold Cup
The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...
(1981)
- Hollywood Futurity
The Hollywood Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1981 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The Grade I race is open to two-year-old horses and run over a distance of 1 1/16 miles...
(1983)
- Lane's End Breeders' Futurity
The Breeders' Futurity Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Currently offering a purse of $500,000, the race is open to two-year-old horses and is run at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on dirt...
(1986)
- Spinster Stakes 1986
- Ashland Stakes
The Ashland Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It and the Ashland Oaks, the Kentucky Association racetrack's predecessor race, were named for Ashland, the homestead and breeding farm of statesman...
(1987)
- Jamaica Handicap
The Jamaica Handicap is American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run annually on the turf at Belmont Park in Elmont on Long Island, New York...
(1989)