proudly articulated, “Through my associ— 
     
     ation with the track and having to go into 
     
     the race office, Barbie and I met and the 
     
     rest is history. We have a wonderful 17— 
     
     year—old daughter Kristy. We have a 
     
     beautiful home in Coconut Creek, Florida 
     
     where we live year round.” Both Barbie 
     
     and Kristy follow Wally’s career closely 
     
     but they have chosen not to be avid stu— 
     
     dents of the game. 
     
    
   
   
    
     There is only one first win for a driver 
     
     and rarely is it ever forgotten. This reins— 
     
     man clearly remembered his milestone 
     
     win at the Charlottetown Driving Park in 
     
     1974. He recounted, “I remember that 
     
     my last drive as an 18-year-old was my 
     
     first win. The horse was Cambridge 
     
     Frisco which I co-owned with Frank 
     
     Roberts. We raced some double-dashes 
     
     then and we were so busy warming up 
     
     our horses that I missed the post parade. 
     
     It was really embarrassing. Dad fre— 
     
     quently gave me advice on what to do 
     
     before a race. He meant well but I found 
     
     out that can‘t be done. It simply didn't 
     
     work that way. He would set my hand- 
     
     holders for me which were way too far 
     
     for me and I was uncomfortable with 
     
     them that way. He told me not to leave 
     
     with Cambridge Frisco because he didn’t 
     
     want me to do anything wrong. I had 
     
     my mind set that I would answer in the 
     
     affirmative to his advice but when the 
     
     race started I had nothing on my mind 
     
     but to go forward hoping that I could get 
     
     my first win. I left out of the gate just as 
     
     tight as I could and I led at the half in 
     
     1:05 and won the race in 2:12 by Open 
     
    
   
   
    
     14 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Behind the Gate 
     
    
   
   
    
     lengths. I have had some nice wins but 
     
     that one was as good as any.“ It’s amaz— 
     
     ing that, after 35 years and 7,029 victo— 
     
     ries, win number one was still so vivid 
     
     and so important. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Another memorable mile for this gentle— 
     
     man was his fastest win in a mile race. It 
     
     was the grand opening of the new mile 
     
     track at Colonial Downs in Virginia with 
     
     a huge crowd in attendance for the offi— 
     
     cial opening. Wally won that night in 
     
     1:48 with Pacific Fella. a horse trained by 
     
     Eddy Lohmeyer. For some reason Wally 
     
     believed this mile had an asterisk with it. 
     
    
   
   
    
     His memory wasn't as vivid as to his 
     
     slowest recorded victory for a mile dis- 
     
     tance. He stated, “I believe it was at the 
     
     Charlottetown Driving Park before we 
     
     had an all—weather track. It would have 
     
     been in the mud and probably around 
     
     2:25." Older racing enthusiasts will re— 
     
     member the horses struggling through 
     
     the unique red mud before the advent of 
     
     rock dust on PEI racetracks. 
     
    
   
   
    
     This durable athlete who measured 5’5” 
     
     in socks and weighed in at 140 pounds, 
     
     trained and drove many memorable hors— 
     
     es during the first part of his career in the 
     
     Maritimes before his departure to the 
     
     United States. When asked to select five, 
     
     he seemed to enjoy the trip down mem- 
     
     ory lane. He commented on each, 
     
     “Cambridge Frisco was the very first 
     
     horse that I trained and drove. I will 
     
     never forget him. George Murphy's 
     
     Colonial Court raced in a class of horses