Trot Insider has learned multiple Hall of Famer Keith Waples, generally regarded as one of the greatest horsemen in the history of harness racing, has passed away at Guelph General Hospital on Friday, May 7, 2021 at the age of 97.
Born December 8, 1923, Keith’s gift to harness racing has been his long and memorable career, a lifetime filled with excellence, accomplishments and perseverance.
At the age of 12, Waples started driving in organized event but he recalled jogging horses at his Victoria Harbour family farm at the age of four. The ‘official’ start of his driving career came after Keith accompanied his father Jack Waples to a race meeting in the small town of Sundridge, Ont. Recent rains had compromised the track and left it in a condition the story recalls as “like porridge.” The senior Waples was a rather large man, weighing in the range of over 200 pounds. An astute bystander suggested “Why don’t you let the boy drive? He’s a lot lighter and he’ll be easier to pull.” While the father was somewhat in agreement he said, “But what if his mother finds out?” The simple reply to that was, “But she’s not here today.” And so it all allegedly began. His first victory came behind a horse called The Grey Ghost, and more than 3,000 victories would follow.
In the earliest days of Keith’s career the sport was essentially confined to a few months of the year when local horsepeople travelled about the countryside, competing on holiday weekends at many small towns. Very early in his career, however, Keith began to show a penchant for winning races; he won them in clusters. He seemed from the start to have a God-given talent for everything it took to be a good driver: good timing, the ability to make snap decisions, athletic ability and perhaps above all he was quiet and reserved.
During the decade of the 1940’s a young Waples plied his trade in the Northern and central parts of Ontario. Each year his talents gained the recognition of more people, and with it came more owners seeking his services. During the winter months he was off to Toronto and Dufferin Park, the capital of winter racing. Despite his relative youth in a then senior-dominated sport, he quickly rose to the top.
By the decade of the 1950’s, harness racing was huge in the province of Quebec and the two large tracks in Metropolitan Montreal, Blue Bonnets and Richelieu Park soon became a “home away from home” for Keith Waples. Later that decade, Waples would indelibly etch his name in Standardbred history as the first driver to win a race faster than 2:00 by guiding Mighty Dudley to victory at Richeleu Park on July 21, 1959.
“The one I thought I’d have the most trouble with that night was Chief Maid, and with the seven hole, I didn’t want to leave against her,” Waples told Trot Insider back in 2009. “But as it turned out, they all kept taking turns and when it was my turn to come, I still had lots of horse.”
Waples would continue to set records on both sides of the border for decades following that miracle mile. His name is engraved on such prestigious trophies as The Little Brown Jug, The Prix d’Ete, The Adios, The International Trot, and the list could go on seemingly forever especially if you start counting driving titles won. While his records show more than 3,200 driving wins, that number is surely a fraction of the true total given that statistics for a good part of his career weren’t recorded.
Among the standouts notably handled by Waples: Hall of Fame inductees Tie Silk and Strike Out, plus Alberts Star, Choir Boy, Duke of Decatur, Ben Boy, Blaze Pick, Zip Tar, Rob Ron Ronnie and Rob Ron Tarios.
In 1973, 50-year old Keith Waples was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. He became just the fourth inductee selected from the sport of harness racing, following fellow drivers Joe O’Brien and Herve Filion as well as Col. Dan MacKinnon, who was enshrined in the Builders category. His induction into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame followed in 1978, with the U.S Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame honouring Waples in 1987.
“A quiet spoken man with a dry wit, spoke very few words to most of the media, but his driving exploits spoke volumes on the race track,” said the late Hall of Famer Bill Galvin of Waples. “Consistently among the top dash and money winners, Keith was always in the limelight. He was a horseman’s horseman, respected by his peers and a role model for young aspiring horsemen. He pursued his craft in a quiet manner, but his lack of conversation with some inquiring writers was very often brief. As a young publicity man who worked the backstretches on a daily basis and talked to trainers, grooms and drivers in search of a good story, I understood why this wily wizard of the reins had little time to answer the queries of some scribes who knew very little about the sport and posed a lot of silly questions.”
During his career Waples took time off from his on-track exploits to assist in the front-office operations of developing harness racing in both Ontario and British Columbia. He and his brother Murray, Hall of Famer Jim Keeling and other partners built and operated Orangeville Raceway and then moved west to bring major league harness racing to B.C., building Cloverdale Raceway (now Fraser Downs) in Surrey and Sandown Park on Vancouver Island.
In 2005, Keith was named the greatest horseman of the 20th Century in a poll conducted by the Canadian Sportsman. “Try talking to Herve Filion, Ron Waples or Bill O’Donnell about Keith, and you’ll get a real sense of what kind of horseman he was,” said historian and Hall of Famer Bob ‘Hollywood’ Heyden.
Waples maintained involvement in the industry through his 80s and 90s both as an owner and occasional on-track participant. In 2014, the harness racing industry paid tribute to first cousins Keith and Ron Waples with a tribute night at Mohawk Racetrack that also served as a fundraiser for the family of the late Mark Austin.
In recent years, Keith Waples’ name was connected to a handful of notable Ontario Sires Stakes performers such as Emery Flight, Junior K, Senior K and 2020 O’Brien Award finalist Karma Seelster. Waples showed in June 2018 — at the age of 94 — that he was still quite capable of handling the lines and he quietly made occasional appearances behind his Standardbreds in the years that followed.
His yellow and blue silks last appeared in a race when he was 81 in 2005, but he continued to train a few horses until just a few years ago. In recent years track visits became less frequent, but his TV was usually tuned to the Horse Racing Channel and he followed industry happenings on the Standardbred Canada website.
Keith and Eileen Waples celebrating their 72nd wedding anniversary in 2018
He will be sadly missed by Eileen, his loving wife of almost 75 years, and his four children, Barbara Lennox, Donna Galbraith (Mac), Karen Hauver (Maurice) and Gord (Denise), as well as his 9 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Keith was the son of the late Jack and Bertha Waples and was predeceased by sisters, Jean Swan and Annabelle Caffry, and by his grandson Jason (Jay) Waples.
He is survived by sisters Dorothy Rumney of Wasaga Beach, Peggi Diebel of Squamish, B.C. and Mary Jane Burnett of Orangeville, and brother Murray of Barrie.
As per his wishes, his body has been cremated and a small private funeral will be held at the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral Home in Guelph, Ont., Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. The service will be live streamed and a link is available on the funeral home website. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
As an expression of sympathy, donations to the Guelph General Hospital would be appreciated by the family in recognition of the excellent care that he and Eileen have received there over the years. Donations/online condolences can be made through the Funeral Home at gilbertmacintyreandson.com.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Keith Waples.
(Robert Smith contributed to this report.)