2025 – Standardbred Builder
Brad Grant, a longtime resident of Milton, Ontario, has consistently demonstrated his passion and commitment to the harness racing industry as an owner, champion of fundraising initiatives, and as a volunteer on several industry boards.
What began as a major investment in the 2010s quickly turned into a passion for Grant who is now a prominent figure in North American harness racing.
He is a second-generation Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Honoured Member, proudly continuing the legacy of his father, fellow Honoured Member, John Grant, who was inducted in the Builders Category in 1998.
As an owner, Grant has raced numerous champions and captured many of harness racing’s most prestigious events during the past 15 years. He credits Apprentice Hanover for taking him to the next level in horse ownership. The son of Somebeachsomewhere out of Allamerican Nadia, sported a career record of 22-12-13 in 75 starts and earnings of $1,022,114 over four racing seasons for Grant and trainer, Ben Wallace.
In 2017, he had three horses nominated for O’Brien Awards, the first time any of his horses had ever been nominated, and all three of them – Stay Hungry, Sandbetweenurtoes, and Bettors Up – captured the national titles. That same year, Stay Hungry gave Grant his first Breeders Crown Championship.
Grant checked off the race many have atop their bucket list when his trotting filly, Atlanta, captured the 2018 Hambletonian at The Meadowlands. He then added two-thirds of harness racing’s pacing Triple Crown to the list of his horse’s achievements courtesy of Stay Hungry’s wins in the 2018 Cane and Messenger.
More success followed in 2019 thanks to older competitors including Atlanta, Easy Lover Hanover and Breeders Crown and Dan Patch Award winner, Ramona Hill, who gave Grant his second Hambletonian trophy, along with O’Brien Award finalists Reflect With Me and Capt Midnight.
Grant became co-owner of Bulldog Hanover before the start of his three-year-old season in 2021 which included a victory in the William R. Haughton Memorial in a world record time of 1:45.4, making him the fastest pacer of all time en route to Horse of the Year honours in Canada and unanimous Horse of the Year honours in the US. When he retired from racing at the end of 2022, Bulldog Hanover’s lifetime stats included a record of 28-4-1 in 37 starts and earnings of $2,789,271. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2023.
In seven of the last eight years, Grant has led all owners in purse earnings on the Woodbine Entertainment circuit and in 2023 he was named to Woodbine Entertainment’s Board of Directors. He’s also been a sponsor of the Breeders Crown Charity Challenge for several years.
A successful business leader and entrepreneur, Grant was inducted into the Milton Sports Hall of Fame for his part in the resurrection of the Milton Merchants Junior Hockey Club. In 2018, as the nation reeled from the tragedy that devastated the town of Humboldt, SK, Grant pledged 100 percent of pacer Humboldt’s earnings for the month of April to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) Player Assistance Program. Grant was recognized as the 2018 recipient of the January Davies Humanitarian Award, presented by the US Harness Writers Association to recognize contributions beyond harness racing. He received the Norman Woolworth Owner of the Year award in 2022, and now he adds another prestigious accolade to his credentials – induction into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.