Let Me Earn Your Business!
Canadian Blood Services BLOOD DONOR CLINIC
CHRIS BABKIRK
WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST FEB. 35
1-7 1-7 pm by PM appt only Leamington Lebanese Club Leamington 447 Hwy Hwy 77 447 77 BY APPOINTMENT ONLY Call 188-2-DONATE Visitorblood.ca to register visit blood.ca
390 Talbot St. N. Essex
519-776-6447
chrisbabkirk@kenknappford.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
Southpoint Sun - 19
Local family’s name is synonymous with harness racing by C. Scott Holland For several decades, one local family was among the who’s who of the horse racing industry in Canada and the US. Baseball has Ruth, while hockey has Gretzky, and football has Brady. For harness racing fans, that name is McIntosh. Brothers Bob and Doug McIntosh both owned stables. Bob had one near Windsor and Doug’s was just north of Wheatley. Both inherited their horsemanship abilities and love of horses from their father, Jack. “He (Jack) raced horses as a hobby until he died,” said Doug. “Upon retiring, he turned to training horses and became well known in the Canada-US racing circles.” While Doug’s stables are north of Wheatley, Jack’s stables were once a part of what is now Wheatley Provincial Park. Doug began working with horses at age 12, and spent many years as a trainer. As a driver, he would race five out of seven nights during the winter and seven out of seven during the summer. He has competed in some of harness racing’s biggest events, including the Breeders’ Cup and Hambletonian. He’s won races in both as well, with Yankee Paco winning the 2000 Hambletonian, becoming the first Canadian-bred horse to win that prestigious harness race (held at the Meadowlands track in New Jersey.)
That year, Yankee Paco brought in $1,360,000, however as McIntosh explained, “The food for a horse during a year is expensive and I have 20 employees to pay.” The really good horses which make money are bought by owners in New York and New Jersey who enter them in races with a higher purse. As well, Doug’s wife Kathy began as a groom, became a trainer and then entered the administrative end of the sport, which included brokerage and syndication, which gets people to buy a horse. “It takes a minimum of roughly $7,500 to purchase a part ownership,” said Kathy. “I had 10 women who bought a horse and formed a stable called Femme Fatale.” “Horses can be no different than an athlete,” Doug added. “They have aches and pains. And like humans, have different personalities.” Doug retired from horse racing in 2015 to concentrate on his line of all-natural McIntosh Pro Line products for horses, pets and people, which he started in the 1990s. At one time, he served on the Windsor Raceway board of directors under the late Tom Joy and was a VP for the Ontario Harness Horseman’s Association. He’s certainly come a long way since taking Princess Barbara - his first race horse - out on the circuit.
Local trainer, Doug McIntosh, with one of his charges at Leamington Fairgrounds in the 1980s. Photo courtesy of Scott Holland Collection
Sports flashbacks from February, 1991
Flyers’ Reid named Rookie of the Year The Leamington Flyers are marred in a Great Lakes Junior C playoff battle with the Belle River Canadiens, but one of their own was honoured by the league this past weekend. Right winger, Jason Reid, 17, was a defenceman when he joined the Flyers from the Sandwich West minor hockey program last September, but Flyers coach Kirk Bowman converted him to a winger and it appears that move paid off. Atom 2s tie and win The Leamington Gabriele Carpets Atom 2s tied and won exhibition games over the weekend while they await their Bluewater playoff opponent. They came from behind to tie Sandwich West 4-4 on Friday and then beat the same opponent on Saturday 5-2 back in Leamington. Mikey Mereszak scored twice in Friday’s game, including the tying marker with the goalie out. Jeff Simpson and Chris
Garroway had singles. In Saturday’s game, Mereszak and Garroway each scored twice, with Chris Collins picking up the single goal. Steve Bradley and Matt Tatomir shared the goaltending duties. Packers host team from St. Louis The Leamington Atom A Packers hosted the St. Louis Baby Blues in an exhibition game here on the weekend, losing that contest 4-2. Darby Cerovski and Jeff Moracci scored the Leamington goals, while Cameron Ellsworth and Jesse Garant stood tall in goal. Lions 1-1 in tourney The Leamington Lions Senior Boys Basketball team went 1-1 in a recent tournament at Essex High School. Pierre Jraiche’s 18 points led Leamington to a 58-49 win over Harrow in game 1. Paolo Mastronardi chipped in with 13 points for the Rick Dumais coached team. In game two, the Lions fell to the Kingsville Cavaliers 41-31. Jeff Woodiwiss had 19 for Kingsville, while Jraiche and
Mastronardi once again led Leamington’s offense. Village Inn trounces Pumpers In Leamington Senior Men’s Hockey League play, the Village Inn ran roughshod over the firstplace Esso Pumpers by a 12-3 score. The new look V.I. squad was led by Phil Wiper, Mark Matheson, Brian Roach and Ken Cobby, who all scored twice. Cobby’s two goals came in a 40-second span. Singles went to Ewald Dobetsberger, Randy Robinson and Gary Gayer. The Pumpers got goals from Steve Lewis, Jim Ferguson and Dave Lightfoot. Kingsville Novices beat Tilbury The Brian’s Custom Pro Novices defeated Tilbury by an 8-2 score on the weekend. Despite spotting Tilbury an early lead, the Kings roared back and won the game on the strength of Scott Chapman’s four goal performance. Rob McMenemy, Rob Buchanan, Max Graham and Adam Ellwood all had single markers.
QUEEN ELIZABETH PUBLIC SCHOOL • KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Registration Dates •February 15th - 26th
EE QU
N ELIZABET
Scan this QR Code to join us for our Virtual Open House on Microsoft Teams on February 17th at 5:00, 5:40 or 6:20 p.m H
Queen Elizabeth has a Discovery Before and After School Program and an EarlyON Centre on-site
4 MA XON S TREE T, LE AMINGTON
