- Nominations
- Inductees
- Alexander, Lisa
- Attard, Larry
- Bailey, Angela
- Balding, Al
- Bard, Alex
- Biggar, Howard
- Borthwick, Gayle
- Boyd, Mabel
- Brenneman, John
- Brown, David
- Brown, Louise
- Brydson, Gordon
- Carver-Dias, Claire
- Chambers, Carlton
- Christie, Marc
- Clare, Lou
- Clark, Karen
- Coffey, Paul
- Distelmeyer, Wallace
- Doty, Fred
- Dudley, Rick
- Ealey, Chuck
- Edwards, Dwight
- Eisele, Sylvia
- Fee, Earl
- Finlay, Matt
- Forshaw, Sheila
- Gilbert, Greg
- Gray, Gerry
- Greenwood, Jill
- Gurowka, Joe
- Hamilton, Stu
- Harris, Susan
- Hattin, Heather
- Hawley, Sandy
- Henderson, Paul
- Hibbert, Curtis
- Hicken, Blair
- Hickox, Mac
- Hinds, Sterling
- Hollett, Frank W.
- Homer-Dixon, Marjorie
- Hughes, Gord
- Kelly, Bob
- Kern, Ben
- Kerr, Jane
- Laumann, Danielle
- Laumann, Silken
- Lay, Jeff
- Loek, Fred
- Love, Jerry
- Martin, Peter
- Marland, Robert
- McCallion, Hazel
- McClintock, Joel
- McClintock-Messer, Judy
- McFater, Al
- McKenzie, Merv
- McQuaker, Charles (Red)
- Morris, Ted
- Oldershaw, Bert
- Oldershaw, Dean
- Oldershaw, Reed
- Oughtred, Wally
- Owoc Chennette, Andrea
- Pallett, Howard
- Paterson, Charlie
- Patey, Larry
- Plaxton, Hugh
- Pogue, Jim
- Poulin, Dave
- Preston, Karen
- Primeau, Joe
- Reddon, Lesley
- Riddell, Sam
- Rider, Fran
- Roach-Leuszler, Winnie
- Ross, Bill
- Ryder, Gus
- Samuel, Ernest
- Serwetnyk, Carrie
- Sicinski, Bob
- Smylie, Doug
- Stanfield, Fred
- Stanfield, Gord
- Stewart-Pellett, Ellen
- Tanti, Tony
- Toth, Mike
- Umeh, Stella
- Van Kiekebelt, Debbie
- Volpe, Nick
- Waites, Al
- Wilson, Bruce
- Wirkowski, Nobby
- Wood, Art
- Wood, John
- Young, Mike
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Name:
ATTARD, Larry
Sport:
Thoroughbred Racing
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Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
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Larry Attard seems to have a special gift to bring the best out of horses. On the other hand, horses also seem to bring the best out of Attard – especially thoroughbred horses.All this may explain why this quiet-mannered jockey became a fans’ favourite through a long and distinguished career, first as a rider then as owner and trainer. Sometimes it was difficult to decide if the regulars at Woodbine or Greenwood tracks placed their bets on a particular horse because they liked the horse or fancied prospects of a profitable outcome for their investment because Attard was the jockey aboard.
During his riding career covering nearly a quarter of a century, Attard made many a faithful punter happy, winning 2,366 races and, in the process, accumulating purse earnings in excess of $34 million. Larry Attard dominated the wins and money charts on the Ontario Jockey Club circuit in the 1980s. He won the Queen’s Plate with Bompago in
1983, and was honoured twice with Sovereign Awards (1983 and ’86) as the country’s leading jockey.
Attard was also Ontario’s leading rider in 1986, 1987, and 1989; and in 1993 was the recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award for significant contributions to the sport. Inducted into the Canadian Horseracing Hall of Fame in 2001, he was also elected to the Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame for the same year. “It’s a really nice honour for me and my family,” said Attard, who was born in Malta and settled his family in Mississauga after immigrating to Canada in ’72. “It’s something really special (to be inducted into the Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame).”
A year after arriving in Canada, Attard registered his first win at Woodbine as an apprentice jockey and continued to ride nearly 20,000 mounts, making trips to the winners’ circle just about once every 10 rides (2,336 wins) and paying bettors second-place money in 2,242 other races. In addition to his Ontario riding champion titles, he was also champion jockey three times both at Woodbine and Greenwood tracks. The crowning glory of his riding career came in in 1983 when he steered dark horse Bompago to the Queen’s Plate.
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Based on the form charts, Bompago had no business galloping into the winners’ circle, because in the ’83 field racing fans fancied a glamourous chestnut named Sunny’s Halo. Owned by David Foster (who also owned a Tex-Mex restaurant in Streetsville) Sunny’s Halo was considered prime candidate to add Queen’s Plate laurels to the Kentucky Derby prize the gelding won earlier in the year. But an injury kept Sunny’s Halo away from Canada’s traditional race of the year, opening
the gate for the rest of the field.
Bompago – a roughish, unpredictable gelding purchased in a claim by Toronto owner/trainer Johnny Cordella for $40,000 – was regarded as a problem horse. The horse was highly strung and difficult-to-ride, often dumping exercise riders. Jockeys preferred to stay away from him.But not Attard. He not only rode the problem gelding, but engineered his ride by suggesting an equipment change that proved vital: he suggested replacing the ring bit used to clamp the horse’s mouth to lock its head in place. Instead, Attard suggested using a softer, more palatable leather-covered slid bit.
It proved to be a stroke of a racetrack genius. Attard steered the 25-1 longshot to a five-length victory. It was the final win for the horse, in his next race he injured a tendon and was retired. Attard himself was forced to call it quits as a result of a career-ending injury in an August 28, 1997 race at Woodbine.Following his retirement – and a lavish recognition from the Ontario Jockey Club for his contribution – Attard “remained heavily in horse racing, seven days a week, ” turning his attention to training. He is not alone in the Attard horse racing family: Larry’s three brothers and two nephews are also trainers, and his niece is married to a trainer.
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