Alex Picov is widely credited for establishing Quarter Horse racing in Ontario. An immigrant to Canada from the Ukraine in 1921, Alex immediately gravitated towards horses and became a very active horse trader in addition to working in the real estate field.
In the beginning his focus was shipping draft horses from the Western provinces into Ontario for work in the logging camps. He worked not only in Ontario but Montreal as well and has been acknowledged as the most active and largest horse dealer in Canada during the 1930s.
The Picov family settled in Ajax, Ontario, where Alex’s passion turned to riding horses, primarily Quarter Horses and his company, Picov Cattle Company, moved the majority of Quarter Horses coming into Canada during the 1960s and ‘70s..
Alex built the area’s only racetrack, Picov Downs, which opened in 1969. The location for the track was part of his farm. The track was renamed Ajax Downs in 2006 and underwent a multi million dollar facelift and is now operated by Alex’s family.
Also located on the property is Picov’s Horseman Centre, one of the oldest tack shops in Ontario and a place Alex enjoyed spending time visiting with fellow horse lovers.
The richest Quarter Horse race in Canada honours his memory with the name the Alex Picov Memorial.
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