Seawind Alpha. Each of the past six 
     
     decades is covered for Maritime racing 
     
     enthusiasts of all ages. Doug drove most 
     
     of his own horses in his younger days but 
     
     later restricted himself to a very proactive 
     
     involvement in the training of his horses. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Mr. jollscoit was a tough and game horse 
     
     that gave Doug his first drive. Dominion 
     
     Byrd was a quality invitational horse and 
     
     a great sire. Glengyle Crane proved to be 
     
     a quality stakes colt by Dominion Byrd. 
     
     He’s A Knight was a successful high— 
     
     priced yearling acquisition. Seawind 
     
     Alpha was a champion stakes filly in the 
     
     broodmare ranks. These were Doug 
     
     Hill’s most memorable horses. Which 
     
     was his favorite horse? He explained, 
     
     “That would have to be Dominion Byrd. 
     
     To me, he was everything. He was a 
     
     good-looking, proud roan with a person- 
     
     ality. He became a successful sire and he 
     
     was nice to be around.” 
     
    
   
   
    
     Like any other sport or business, expens— 
     
     es are a major factor and owning a race 
     
     horse is no exception. Rewards can 
     
     sometimes be substantial but Doug 
     
     explained that prospective owners of a 
     
     race horse must be aware of inevitable 
     
     expenses like shelter or stabling, proper 
     
     mixture of nutritious food, equipment 
     
     like harness, bikes, carts, rugs, blankets, 
     
     etc. Shoeing was always a big item. 
     
     Shipping, stake payments, veterinary 
     
     care, diet supplements, etc. must also be 
     
     met. It is because of rising expenses that 
     
     partnerships and syndicates are becom— 
     
     ing a very popular mode of ownership of 
     
    
   
   
    
     118 
     
    
   
   
    
     ,‘r‘ . 
     
     3°; 5 - x 
     
    
   
   
    
     Behind the Gate 
     
    
   
   
    
     horses today. They still permit the little 
     
     fellow and his family to appreciate the 
     
     joys of going to the track to give his 
     
     horse a carrot. Only owners that have 
     
     fed carrots to their horses will understand 
     
     and appreciate this positive feeling of 
     
     bonding between animal and human. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Training colts and fillies was the aspect of 
     
     horse racing that Doug Hill enjoyed the 
     
     most. In 2008, he no longer drove in 
     
     races but railbirds at the C.D.P. would 
     
     agree that he rarely missed a jogging or 
     
     training session with Summer Storm and 
     
     Shadow Dancer. He was a major patron 
     
     of Maritime yearling sales for years. In 
     
     1960, his Rashaway Chief won a stakes 
     
     race in 2:17 making him the first sub 2:20 
     
     two-year-old winner in Maritime stakes 
     
     history. In 2001, his Seawind Alpha was 
     
     a dominant filly in two-year-old stakes 
     
     action in the Maritimes. In the four 
     
     decades between Rushaway Chief and 
     
     Seawind Alpha, Doug had his share of 
     
     peaks and valleys in harness racing but 
     
     one constant was his love cf training 
     
     colts and fillies. 
     
    
   
   
    
     A very positive experience for this pro- 
     
     active horseman was seeing a olt or filly 
     
     that he spent a lot of personal time with 
     
     develop into a contender, not recressarily 
     
     a champion. In fact, Doug would rec- 
     
     ommend this game to his bes firiend if 
     
     that friend was truly interestel in ani- 
     
     mals. He would not recommemd it for 
     
     financial gain. Doug was asket [(0 name 
     
     the person who taught him .h(€ most 
     
     about this game. He answere(, "‘Really,