Whether it’s on the track or on the ice, the Hall of Famer is a success.

by Murray Brown

Dr. Ian Moore was born in Sheffield, England. He moved to Canada, specifically Montreal, at the age of 4. He then spent a couple of years living in that city before moving east. He, generally speaking, considers himself an Islander, of the Prince Edward variety.

In 2024, at the age of 70, in the midst of his most successful year racing horses, he was elected to membership in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

He recently sat down with this observer to discuss a life well lived, both on and off the racetrack.

You are known as both being an exceptional veterinarian and an exceptional horse trainer. Which is it that you consider most important?

“They interact with each other. I guess the fact that at the age of 71, I am now primarily a horse trainer would likely suggest that training horses is the area of primary interest. But that is not necessarily so. I still practice veterinary medicine, not only with the horses in my stable, but also for a few long-time clients.

“I’m now at an age where doing both on a full-time basis is just too taxing. I think that training horses has allowed me to become a better vet.

“In the same manner, knowledge and experience in equine medicine has contributed to my becoming a better horse trainer.”

Let’s address your stable. It seems that with each racing season, it becomes more successful. Would you agree with that assessment? If so, why is that so?

“The numbers somewhat bear that out. The main reason is probably that we work hard and try our best to improve with time. The natural tendency is to gain more knowledge. Translating that added knowledge to the horses under my care would hopefully be of benefit to the individual horses in particular and to the stable in general.

“Another reason would be practical. Quite simply with more success, my bankroll and those of my owners increased. Whereas in the past, I was restricted by the amount of money I could spend on yearlings. In recent years that has increased significantly. Nowadays, I can look at and evaluate, not necessarily afford, but certainly get into the game with the top bred yearlings on offer at just about any horse sale.”

Let’s speak of your transition through the ranks.

“I began as a veterinarian who dabbled in training horses. The horses in my stable at the time were mostly of the overnight variety. If I had to make a living solely as a horse trainer at the time, I likely would have existed on the border of starvation.

“The turning point of my career in training horses took place in the Fall of 2003. I was at the Maritime yearling sale. I had previously trained a few yearlings with reasonable success, but I wouldn’t come close to describing myself as a yearling specialist. Charlotte Ranch were selling a nice colt from the first crop of Astreos, a horse that I admired as a racehorse. It was fairly rare then to see first crop yearlings by great racehorses at that sale. The colt was hanging in the bidding at $9,600. I don’t remember whether it was with one or two bids that I bought him for $10,000.

“That was the easy part.

“The hard part was how was I going to pay for him. I contacted my friend Ron McLellan who initially said I had paid too much for him. I then got in touch with Sandy Shearer who came in for 25 per cent. I then went back to Ron, who together with a friend of his bought 50 per cent. I took the remaining quarter.

The horse’s name was Astronomical. He went on to make over three quarters of a million (Canadian) for our partnership group.

“That was the start of my career as a ‘yearling specialist.’

“Ron McLellan was a dear friend and partner then. He remains so today. He plays a big part in choosing the yearlings which we bid on and ultimately buy. I look upon Ron as being the pedigree specialist, while I judge the individuals.”

You mentioned McLellan as one of your partners. You’ve since added Hockey Hall of Famer Serge Savard to your partnership group.

“I’ve been a hockey fan and participant forever. At 71, I still play and enjoy the game immensely. It was through our mutual friend John Ferguson that I met Serge. Serge and his son owned a junior hockey team here in the Maritimes. He had previously owned horses with Jack Kopas and told me that he was interested in getting back in the business. I said I would keep my eyes open and if one came around, I’d let him know.

“In the Fall of 2006, I had left Harrisburg early. Ron McLellan called me and said he had bought this nice colt by The Panderosa for $16,000. The colt was Shadow Play. I had not previously seen him.

I told him to just send the colt down.

“Quite unusually for her, my wife Nancy looked at the colt and instantly fell in love. She told me we had to own him. So, we did. I called Serge and told him that I had found the horse he was looking to buy.

“I’ve had quite a few very good to bordering on great horses, like Tattoo Artist, Stockade Seelster, State Treasurer, Century Farroh, Odds On Platinum and Arthur Blue Chip, since Shadow Play, but he was the best of all of them. He has also turned out to be a successful sire, being the sire of the fastest horse ever Bulldog Hanover. He is the horse who never stops giving.”

You’ve been known as one who looks at all of the yearlings by Shadow Play. Why didn’t you buy or even bid on Bulldog Hanover?

“I had looked at him and really liked him. But he was selling later in the Wednesday session at Harrisburg. By that time, we were all bought out. We had liked four Shadow Plays. We bought the first three. By the time Bulldog Hanover came into the sales ring, we had had spent all of our money. If I had only known, I would have somehow found the money. I recall telling Jack Darling that I thought Bulldog was a really nice colt. It’s interesting, that one of the colts I am training this year is a Bulldog Hanover owned by Jack.”

Which brings us to your stable this year. How is it made up?

“We have 22 head here in Florida, 14 of them are 2-year-olds. They are made up of nine colts and five fillies. We have five 3-year-olds and three 4-year-olds, the most of that age we have ever had down here.

“I look upon the number of 20 as ideal for me to have in my shedrow. As usual, I exceeded that number by a couple.”