“I never had the chance to meet the horse that changed my life. His name was Key to the Moon and in 1984 he won one of the most controversial editions of The Queen’s Plate.
My family had only just moved to Canada from Northern Ireland earlier that year and my dad and I often made the journey from our new home in Brampton out to Woodbine to watch the races.
Woodbine was much different then. The track was natural dirt then and I remember the jockeys riding a trolley back to the jock’s room after each race. Many times I stood at the rail and asked for them to autograph my program. On one particularly lucky afternoon, Sandy Hawley went back into the jock’s room and came out with goggles for me and a few other kids that we’re waiting around. I still have the goggles…and now, just a few years later, I share an office with Sandy at Woodbine where I work as Communications Manager.
But I digress…back to Woodbine in 1984 where a huge crowd has gathered to watch the favoured Let’s Go Blue win the Queen’s Plate. Standing in his way was the one-two punch from BKY Stable of Key to the Moon and Ten Gold Pots.
Given that it was a particularly special day at the races, my dad told me that if there was a horse I liked, he’d place a wager for me. I stared at the program for what felt like hours before landing on Key to the Moon and promptly tore open my Velcro wallet, unfurled a brown two-dollar bill and handed it over to my dad.
The atmosphere that day was electric. I stood pressed against the fence at the finish line watching as Ten Gold Pots, touted as a rabbit but far more talented than that, gave up the lead at the top of the stretch.
A neck and neck duel ensued between Key to the Moon, with Robin Platts up, and Let's Go Blue, piloted by Larry Attard, bumping each other for the last 40 yards. The crowd was in a frenzy. As I strained to see over the green metal fence mere yards from the action, the two hard charging horses matched each other stride for stride, straining for the wire.
Somehow, Key to the Moon crossed the line first, but a lengthy inquiry commenced in which both riders claimed foul against each other. Can you imagine? A winning rider claiming foul against the runner-up?
The tote board blinked and the crowd roared. Key to the Moon stayed up. I was ecstatic. "My horse" had won, Platts became "my jockey" and the moment has never left me. A great photo of the race appears in the first edition of the Louis Cauz book on The Queen's Plate. With a magnifying glass, I can spot a splotch of brown hair along the fence that I know is mine. Key to the Moon paid $7.80 to win, but my dad handed over a crisp, purple ten-dollar bill. I've been a racing fan ever since.
In 2006, my recollection of this great day at the races with my dad, who sadly passed away a few years ago now, became my first published piece in a special anniversary edition magazine put out by Woodbine. That story sparked my interest in writing and soon I launched a blog, TripleDeadHeat.Ca, and I eventually began writing for a variety of outlets including Down The Stretch, TROT Magazine and Canadian Thoroughbred, before landing a full-time gig at Woodbine.
I can trace all the good moments of my life in racing, so many new friends both human and equine, back to that day at the track with my dad. And it’s all thanks to a dark bay colt named Key to the Moon.”
By Keith McCalmont, for Ontario Horse Racing.
(C) Ontario Horse Racing 2016. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without permission.
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