2024 – Thoroughbred Builder
Glen Todd was a titan in the British Columbia horse racing scene. He couldn’t get enough of the sport that he loved so dearly and, in fact, held virtually every role available in the industry. Glen was an owner, breeder, trainer, innovator, communicator, promoter, betting shop owner and a mentor.
In the last decade, Glen played an integral role in revitalizing the racing in industry in British Columbia with his passion and charity. Canadian racing lost Glen in March, 2022 but his legacy will live on.
Born on December 20, 1946, Glenn fell in love with horse racing as a child, attending the races with his father who had met Glen’s mother at Hastings racecourse in Vancouver in 1939. He grew up to be an exceptional businessman, building his family’s Pacific Group of Companies into Pacific Custom Brokers in Surrey, for which he was President and CEO.
Glen began training horses at Hastings in the early 1970s, doing so until 1985 and again in recent years. He set up his North American Thoroughbred Horse Company in 2006 and grew that racing and breeding operation into a powerhouse in his province. Soon his red and white checked silks were flying past the finish line in the winning position in hundreds of races. In 2011, Glen won the Sovereign Award in a tie with Donver Stable for Canada’s Outstanding Owner, and in 2012, NATHC won 34 stakes races, sharing the title of most stakes wins by an owner that year with Texan John Oxley.
In 2016, Glen got his long-awaited BC Derby win when Sorryaboutnothing, trained by his long-time friend Troy Taylor, captured the Grade 3 race.
Behind the racing headlines, Glen worked tirelessly to promote and improve the BC racing industry. In 2009, he was part of the BC Horse Racing Industry Management Committee, formed to situate racing on firmer financial ground.
He played a major role in setting up numerous incentives for BC horsepeople for breeding and racing, helped launch the Hastings Racing Club to the public and send out a daily e-newsletter named for his restaurant and teletheatre, the Derby Bar & Grill.
Glen was instrumental in kick-starting the career of jockey Mario Gutierrez, who was plucked from race riding in Mexico to work for Glen at Hastings. In a matter of some six years, Mario rode I’ll Have Another to Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories and he’s now an established rider in California.
Glen, who was active in many other sports, is a member of the BC Sports Hall of Fame, for his long-time involvement with softball, a member of the Softball BC Hall of Fame, the Softball Canada Hall of Fame, the World Baseball Hall of Fame and the BC Thoroughbred Hall of Fame.
Glen’s 60-year commitment to horse racing in BC was matched only by his dedication to family. His daughters Shelley and Dana often accompanied him to the track and today, Shelley manages Glen’s Todd Manor Farm in Kentucky.
Large than life, Glen richly deserves his spot in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.