There was a 44-year-gap between trainer Troy Taylor’s first training title at Hastings in 1963 and his second in 2007. However, he didn’t waste any time in notching his third title in 2008. When he led the standings again in 2009 and 2010, he joined Lance Giesbrecht as the only person to be leading trainer at Hastings four years in a row.

Taylor, along with four brothers and two sisters, grew up with horses on his parent’s farm in Payette, Idaho. His father Herb trained horses, and two brothers, Roy and J.D. also became trainers.

“We all learned a lot by helping out my dad at the farm and the track,” says Taylor. “Roy was my identical twin. He would sub for me and nobody would know the difference. My dad couldn’t tell us apart, and he called me ‘twin’ until I was a teenager.”

Taylor took out his trainer’s license as a 22-year-old in 1953 and made his first trip to Hastings in 1958.

“They were having a hard time filling races because of a virus,” says Taylor. “Carl Baze and I decided to ship some horses up from Washington. I liked it here, so I’ve been coming back off and on since then.”

Taylor was also a leading trainer at Portland Meadows. One year the battle for the title came down to him and Carl Baze.

“Carl and I were the best of friends, but it was a heated competition because they were giving away a new car to the winner,” says Taylor. “I edged him out, and I got a new Austin Healey. I think Carl had more wins but they used a point system.”
Because of the longevity of Taylor’s career, it is impossible to say how many races he has actually won. The Daily Racing Form computerized its database in 1976, and since then Taylor has compiled a 527-382-360 record from 2,926 starts.

Not included in the totals are the 34 wins when he was leading trainer at Hastings in 1963. He beat a solid group of horsemen: the next four trainers in the standings that year were Sid Martin, Sonny O’Connell, Bunny Johnson and Jim Halket, all members of the B.C. Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Taylor counts Holy Nova, the 2009 Ballerina winner, and Sir Gallovic, who won the Grade 3 Premiers in 2007, as the best horses he has trained in this era. Looking back a few decades, he rates Sandy Fleet and Turn to Fire as a couple of his favorites.

“Sandy Fleet set a world record for 6 ½ furlongs in the Governors Handicap at Longacres in 1966, and he fell on his head coming out of the gate,” says Taylor. “Larry Pierce rode him, and he said Sandy Fleet was the fastest horse he had ever ridden.”

On the Horse Racing TV website, host Jon White lists “winning my first $100 wager when Turn to Fire prevailed by a scant nose in the 1971 Fashion Handicap at Longacres,” as one of his most memorable moments in horse racing.

Taylor owes a lot of his success to owner Glen Todd. They met each other in 1963 when Todd was covering horse racing for the Columbian newspaper.

“The first day of the meet Troy won three races,” says Todd. “It was pretty obvious he knew how to train a horse.”

Todd gravitated to training in 1973 but gave it up to take over his father’s business in 1977. Taylor has been Todd’s trainer for the past 33 years.

“Loyalty goes both ways,” says Todd. “Nobody knows more about a horse than Troy. It is scary at times.”

Taylor is very appreciative of everything Todd has done for him.

“You can’t have success in this business without good horses,” says Taylor. “Glen has certainly provided me with the kind of opportunity that any trainer would love to have.”

At 79 Taylor is still going strong, but he isn’t sure how many more years he will keep training.

“Maybe one more year. We’ll see. One thing I do know for sure - it has been a lot of fun.”