Mississauga, OH --- The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the most exclusive fraternity in the country, announced its list of 2005 inductees at a reception held in the Hall of Fame, located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.

The class of 2005 features eight new members, including six horses and two people, who will be honored at an evening induction ceremony on Thursday, August 25 at the Toronto Congress Centre.

David Willmot, chairman and CEO of Woodbine Entertainment Group and Standardbred trainer Stew Firlotte are the people to be recognized for their careers and outstanding accomplishments, and the outstanding trotters Glorys Comet and Garland Lobell will be inducted along with the accomplished Thoroughbreds Cool Reception and Norcliffe.

In addition, the Veteran’s Committee unanimously elected the Standardbred Armbro Omaha and the Thoroughbred Anita’s Son as 2005 inductees.

David Willmot, the owner of Kinghaven Farms and the man considered to have had the greatest impact on horseracing in North America during the past 10 years, will be recognized in the Builders’ Category.

Industry officials, representing both breeds, have lauded Willmot’s influence in the rescue of the financially troubled Ontario Jockey Club in the mid 1990s, and for making it a model for other racetracks. The 55-year-old chairman and CEO of Woodbine Entertainment and his father, D.G. Willmot, built Kinghaven Farms into one of Canada’s premier breeding and racing stables. Its champions include Izvestia, With Approval, Carotene, Alywow, and Play The King. Willmot was the first Canadian to be president of Harness Tracks of America, and is a co-owner of the Standardbred stakeswinners Cabrini Hanover and Southwind Allaire.

Stew Firlotte, 64, and a native of Noranda, Que., has been involved in harness racing for over 30 years. He started by grooming horses in 1970, and six years later opened his own public stable in Canada. The initial C$1,500 investment put up by him and his partners blossomed into a C$4 million corporation, including part ownership in the Pacing Triple Crown winner Ralph Hanover, a winner of over $1.8 million.

Firlotte is best known for his mastery of one of the most challenging aspects of the sport, breaking and developing yearlings. He campaigned the sensational filly Town Pro, who retired at the end of 1992 with 40 lifetime wins and $1.2 million in earnings, and who was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame last year. Some of Firlotte’s other noteworthy performers over the years include Historic, His Mattjesty, Brees Brief, Strong Clan, and Rare Review.

Garland Lobell, owned by the Garland Lobell Stable, had a respectable racing career, in which he won 14 races and $345,689, but it is in the breeding shed where he truly excells.

Following his racing career, the son of ABC Freight--Gamin Lobell distinguished himself as a top stallion in Quebec and the United States. In Quebec, he helped to improve the trotting mare stock and produced many North American and European champions, including the winner of $1.8 million, Cameron Hall, the Hambletonian runner-up Angus Hall, the World Trotting Derby winner Andover Hall, and Conway Hall, North America’s champion 2-year-old. Angus Hall, now a stallion himself, led all Ontario sires last year with offspring netting C$2.6 million in Ontario Sire Stakes.

To date, Garland Lobell’s offspring have earned more than $43.9 million, and an average of $68,594.

The outstanding accomplishments of Glorys Comet, marked by his longevity and success on the racetrack, made him one of Canada’s greatest trotters of all-time. His racing career spanned 10 years and included 56 wins and earnings of $2,057,695.

Trained by his owner-breeder George Peters, the gelded son of Balanced Image--Lou Macs Glory was the first Standardbred in Canadian history to trot a sub-1:54 mile, and set what was a Canadian trotting record of 1:53⁴ at the time. The multiple stakeswinner and two-time O’Brien Award winner became the richest Canadian-bred Standardbred of all-time when he surpassed No Sex Please ($1,884,392) on October 23, 1999, and on October 28, 2000, he became the first Canadian bred and sired Standardbred to eclipse the $2 million mark in lifetime earnings.

Armbro Omaha inspired national pride with his superb performances in classic races. When his racing career ended and he began his breeding career, he performed with the same impact he demonstrated on track and was a top sire, and stood at Armstrong Bros. Farms in Inglewood, Ont. until he retired in 1992.

The son of Airliner--Imperial Armbro dominated fellow 3-year-olds for owner Elgin Armstrong and trainer-driver Billy Haughton, won 11 of 32 races and $357,146, won the Little Brown Jug, the Messenger Stakes, the Adios Stakes, and the Prix d’Ete, and was the first Standardbred to win five races worth $100,000 or more.

As a sire, he left an indelible impact on Canadian pedigrees. He produced 588 winners from among 884 foals, who won over $30 million -- including 87 winners of $100,000 or more.

Norcliffe, an exceptionally talented racehorse during the 1970s at Woodbine, with 14 victories and over $434,066 in earnings, added more luster to his stature during an abbreviated but impressive stallion career, in which he produced 33 stakeswinners while standing at Gateway Farms and Hyllview and Crescent Farms.

Owned by Lt. Col Charles Baker, trained by Roger Attfield, and ridden by Jeffrey Fell, Norcliffe was Canada’s Horse of the Year in 1976, following a tremendous season which included victories in the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes. He also won the richest races for Canadian-breds at ages two, three, and four, the Coronation Futurity, Queen’s Plate, and Canadian Maturity.

Cool Reception, a son of Nearctic--Windy Answer, is regarded as one of the top Canadian-breds because of his outstanding racing ability, but more so for the courage he displayed in finishing second in the 1967 Belmont Stakes while running the last 200 yards of the race on a broken foreleg. Trained for much of his career by Hall of Famer Lou Cavalaris, he won seven races in a row, including Canada’s two richest events for 2-year-olds, the Coronation Futurity and the Cup and Saucer Stakes.

Anita’s Son, bred in Ireland but shipped to Canada as a weanling, was a winner of a record 16 stakes on the Ontario Jockey Club Circuit, and finished second or third in nine other stakes for owner M.J. “Jim” Boylen’s Lanson Farms in Malton, Ont. and Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Art Warner. He won races at various distances, from six furlongs to one and one-quarter miles, and competed on both dirt and turf. The son of Krakatao and Anita was Canada’s leading handicap horse in 1960 and 1961.

Retired National Hockey League star Dennis Hull will be the guest speaker at the induction ceremony on August 25, at the Toronto Congress Centre.