Behind the Gate ‘2'? 
     
    
   
   
    
     no single person hut. then again. a lot of 
     
     different people. No matter how long 
     
     you are in this game. there is always 
     
     more to learn and sometimes from per— 
     
     sons that you might haye thought wereth 
     
     yery km>\\'ledgeahle. l)e\'eloping horses 
     
     can he a \‘ery humhling experience at 
     
     times. I haye heen in nearly all facets of 
     
     racing — owner. hreeder. trainer. driyer. 
     
     groom. track owner. and management 
     
     and could learn something new every 
     
     day. The most important things I haye 
     
     learned are humility and patience.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     This yery experienced and knowledge— 
     
     ahle horseman admired and appreciated 
     
     all horsemen that haye come up through 
     
     the ranks and lime made a success of 
     
     what they do. Doug explained. "It takes 
     
     a lot of dedication if you are to he suc— 
     
     cessful in this game. You must experi— 
     
     ence a lot of ups and downs and. to stay 
     
    
   
   
    
     inyolyed. you lime to loye it." 
     
    
   
   
    
     Doug llill literally participated in thou— 
     
     sands of races as a groom. trainer. driyer 
     
     and owner in oyer six decades of 
     
     im‘ohement. I asked him to select one 
     
     race that he rememhered the most and 
     
     why. Somehow his answer did not sur— 
     
     prise me. "l’rohahly no single race hut 
     
     winning two-year—old Maritime champi- 
     
     ons could rank as numher one. That 
     
     would haye to start with It’lis‘buu'zri' Clue/V 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Doug Hill 
     
    
   
   
    
     in 1960 and .S‘euu'im/Alp/m in 2001 with 
     
     others. in hetween." 
     
    
   
   
    
     .\lost of this horsemans driyes were in 
     
     eastern Canada and on his own horses: 
     
     howeyer. he has driyen races in Florida 
     
     for the stahles of Ron \V'aples and Archie 
     
     _\Ic.\'eil. He rememhered his first driye in 
     
     a race like it happened only yesterday. 
     
     The horse was his own .1111 _/o//.x‘co// hy 
     
    
   
   
    
     jol/ily out of P/Hc/qr Scott. it was surpris— 
     
    
   
   
    
     ing what he rememhered ahout that race. 
     
     lie recounted. “l rememher getting a uni— 
     
     form. I.en (_)‘.\leara had a jacket and a 
     
     soft cap that he wasn‘t using. My wife 
     
     had to alter hoth the jacket and cap. At 
     
     that time. white driying—pants werent 
     
     compulsory. l rememher that and a great 
     
     flash of hutterflies that seemed to he 
     
     inside me." More than half a century 
     
     later. it was indeed interesting what a dri— 
     
     yer would rememher ahout his yery first 
     
     race and what it entailed. 
     
    
   
   
    
     it was the same .111: jo/[Vcoll that would 
     
     proyide Mr. Hill with his first driying \ic— 
     
     tory and it happened at the 
     
     Charlottetown l)ri\'ing Park in 193.2) and 
     
     the time for the mile was 2:1»i. Doug‘s 
     
     memory of his fastest win eyer was not as 
     
     clear. lie stated. "My fastest win was 
     
     around 1:38 or 15‘) and that wouch he at 
     
     either Pompano Park or Tropical Park in 
     
     Florida with a horse from either Archie 
     
    
   
   
    
     "I! la/ees a lot ofdedication [fyou are to be success/ill in this game. 
     
    
   
   
    
     You must experience a lot o/‘ups and dozens and. to stay involved. 
     
    
   
   
    
     you baee to love 1'1. " 
     
    
   
   
    
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