néug:I'Hi11 
     
    
   
   
    
     McNeils outfit or maybe Ron \V’aples‘ sta— 
     
     ble. I worked for these gentlemen." 
     
    
   
   
    
     The last horse that Doug droye in the 
     
     Maritimes was Glengr/e lie/cor owned by 
     
     Flora Thompson and Bill NIacGregor. 
     
     That was in 1987. and incidentally he 
     
     won that meaningful race for his two 
     
     friends in 2:02. Somehow it was fitting 
     
     that he would end that phase of his 
     
     career in harness racing with a yictory. 
     
     Doug‘s last official driye eyer was 
     
     February 11. 1989 at Pompano Park. 
     
    
   
   
    
     ()yer the years. Doug llill employed 
     
     some yery capable and talented people in 
     
     his stable Robert "Pepsi" Harper. Bob 
     
     (Zraig. Richard Bradley. Daye \‘y’isener. 
     
     Debbie Bulger. Wilfred "()okie" l’oulton. 
     
     Buddy Shepherd. Arnold Myers. l’enton 
     
     liambrick. yloe llennessey. \eil Bambrick 
     
     and Ralph Shepherd. Doug recognized 
     
     that his workers made many important 
     
    
   
   
    
     contributions to his stable. 
     
    
   
   
    
     For a number of years. Doug would 
     
     spend tnost of the winter season in 
     
     l’lorida employed in the stables of estab— 
     
     lished horsemen like Jim Roach 
     
     .\lac(lregor. Archie McNeil and Ron 
     
     \Vaples. It was hard work bttt inyaluable 
     
     because he was learning important con— 
     
     cepts about horses and the industry and 
     
     getting the opportunity to driye in races 
     
     for some of the best in the business at 
     
    
   
   
    
     that time. 
     
    
   
   
    
     This nayal yeteran of \V'orld \\"ar ll was 
     
    
   
   
    
     asked to describe his present inyolye— 
     
    
   
   
    
     120 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Behind the Gate 
     
    
   
   
    
     ment in harness racing, "Today. in 2008. 
     
     I am just a small owner with no aged 
     
     horses. I usually haye one two year—old 
     
     and one three—year—old with the idea of 
     
     moying the three—year—old after the fall 
     
     racing and bringing in a yearling which 
     
     would be next years t\\'o—year—old." He 
     
     usually bought at the yearling sales in 
     
     RBI. and Nova Scotia. He did his own 
     
     jogging and training but now delegated 
     
     the driying in races to younger teamsters 
     
     like Earl Smith. Brian Macl’hee and 
     
     Kenny Arsenault. Doug was reluctant to 
     
     talk about his success with colts and fil— 
     
     lies but hard work and talent haye 
     
     helped produce contenders and winners 
     
     like He‘s A King/.71. .S‘eau'im/ Alp/m. 
     
     Sena/ml Romeo and others. Doug and 
     
     Rosemary. with their children Alamie and 
     
     Rosemary. will be hoping that Summer 
     
     Storm and SIM/(low Dancer haye some 
     
    
   
   
    
     success in their 2008 stakes engagements. 
     
    
   
   
    
     llarness racing was always just a hobby 
     
     for Doug llill because family and busis 
     
     ness interests occupied most of his time. 
     
     Something changed for Doug and the 
     
     hobby became hard work when he 
     
     joined with Ron \V”:1ples. Archie McNeil 
     
     and _lim Roach MacGregor in l’lorida but 
     
     he loyed what he was doing in the 
     
     employ of this talented trio. He 
     
     described them in the following manner. 
     
     "Ron \\'aples was the best all around 
     
     horseman that l haye eyer known. 
     
     Archie .\lc\eil ran one of the most effi— 
     
     cient stables that l haye seen. _Iim Roach 
     
     .\lac(}regor was probably as good a 
     
    
   
   
    
     horseman e\'er in the Maritimes and fun