Steve Condren has won a mountain of stakes with some of the top horses ever to come out of Ontario over his 38-year Hall of Fame driving career, but ask him to name the horse that changed his life and his memory always lands on an old pacing claimer named Tuscount Hanover who raced all over the province in an 11-year racing career that began in 1974.
“When people ask me about horses, I always keep coming back to that old horse,” Condren said. “He won six or seven in a row at Greenwood and that just helped me get started.”
Over 293 career starts, Tuscount Hanover (Speedy Count—Tussy Hanover) won 38 races, earned $88,241 and posted a mark of 2:02.1f at age eight.
Condren grew up in St. Catharines, ON, but his family moved down the street from Mohawk Racetrack when Condren was in Grade 6. “That winter, basically, I was walking down the road and went into the standardbred horse business,” he said of being the first in his family to take up the sport.
Before long, he was walking the shedrows at Mohawk during the Grand Circuit meet, staring in awe at the likes of the stables of Joe O’Brien, Keith Waples, Delvin Miller, Billy Haughton, Stanley Dancer and more.
His first win came piloting Farm Taara to victory at Orangeville Raceway in 1977. Condren was in his early 20s and just the third or fourth year of his career when he drove Tuscount Hanover.
“I’m pretty sure I was working for (John Burns) at the time,” Condren said.
Condren went on to win the 1989 North America Cup with Goalie Jeff, has two Breeders Crown wins to his credit (Armbro Officer, Before Sunrise) and has won the Canadian Trotting Classic three times (McCall Magic, In Conchnito and Trustworthy). He has also won the Maple Leaf Trot (Natural Image), Roses Are Red (Shady Daisy) and William Wellwood Memorial (Windsong Espoir).
Over his career, Condren has won almost 6,800 races and more than $113 million in purses. He is also the man who won the last race ever contested at Greenwood Raceway (Kirk Henley on Dec. 31, 1993).
Yet, there was something about Tuscount Hanover that left an indelible mark on the Hall of Famer.
“I always think about this horse,” Condren said.
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