(photo by Dave Landry)
From his nightly perch atop Mohawk and Woodbine Racetracks calling some of the greatest standardbreds in the world, just about any star equine could qualify as the horse that changed the life of Woodbine Entertainment Group announcer Ken Middleton, Jr.
But his life-changing horse is more personal than that. It’s a three-year-old Ontario Sired pacing filly named Little Miss Sporty owned and trained by his fiancé Stacey Reinsma of Cambridge, ON. Reinsma paid $13,000 for the daughter of Sportswriter out of Love Scene at the 2013 Forest City Yearling Sale. Little Miss Sporty has earned over $70,000 since.
“She was the first yearling we bought,” Middleton, Jr. said. “We’ve had pretty good success with her for the first yearling we’ve ever had.”
The fact Little Miss Sporty has had a little success is nice, but Middleton, Jr. said the pacer has been life-changing for another reason.
“It got me re-interested in that aspect of the industry,” he said. “It was where I worked years ago. I used to work with horses and I love it. I love getting out of bed in the morning and going over and working with them.”
Though he said calling races and working with horses is two completely different worlds, he said his hands-on work has elevated his knowledge of the game, which also augments his race calls.
“It makes me understand why some horses race badly, or struggle. More of the mechanics of the horse… or equipment or shoeing changes,” he said. “It also makes you appreciate them more.”
Reinsma now owns three racing horses — Little Miss Sporty, $40,000-winning Ontario Sired two-year-old pacing filly Lady Marina and seven-year-old Ontario Sired gelded pacer Hollywood Ham, a son of Mach Three that has earned more than $55,000 lifetime.
For Middleton, Jr. they all have reignited a passion for the animal that sparked his interest in the sport in the first place.
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