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HONORING A CHAMPION Daily Racing Forms annual dinner at the Royal York HotelToronto, honoring the previous seasons Canadian Horse of the Year, tonight hails the achievements of Mrs. Gordon McMackens King Maple, the 1953 champion. This painting of the bay son of Fairaris Noon Maid by the talented Canadian artist, C. W. Kettle-well, is being presented to Mrs. Mc-Macken by Daily Racing Form, which sponsors the poll. King Maple is favored to capture the ninety-fifth running of the coveted Queens Plate on June 12. Mrs. Gordon McMacken Guest of Honor At Daily Racing Form Dinner Tonight Publisher to Present Her With Painting of Champion King Maple at Gala Affair By FRANK ARMSTRONG TORONTO, Ont., June 3. Daily Racing Forms annual "Horse of the Year" dinner which h,as become an event of great significance in Canadian turf circles will be held Friday night at the Royal York Hotel. . Mrs. Gordon McMacken, owner of last years champion two-year-old, King Maple, who was accorded the coveted title on the vote of a panel of newspaper sports editors, turfwriters and Daily Racing Form staff-men, will be guests of honor. J. Samuel Perlman, publisher of Daily Racing Form, will make the presentation of an oil painting of King Maple to Mrs.v McMacken, and color replicas of the original to trainer John Hornsby, breeder Don McClelland and jockey Herb Lindberg. The portrait is the work of C. W. Kettlewell, Toronto artist who specializes in thoroughbreds. This will be the third "Horse of the Year" dinner in Canada and marks the second award to a two-year-old. Honors in the first instance were accorded to E. P. Taylors Bull Page for his dominance of the handicap ranks in rich autumn stakes. In 1952, Canadiana, also owned by E. P. Taylor, was voted the title by virtue of victory in nine of her 11 juvenile starts in Canada and the United States. She went on as a three-year-old to add the laurel of being the first Canadian-bred to win more than" 00,000, which included the glory of victory in the 94th running of the Queens Plate." Made Clean Sweep of Two-Year-Old Stakes King Maple was acclaimed for the coveted honor in his first year. He was a spectacular performer and made a clean sweep of the rich i two-year-old stakes on the autumn schedule, earning 9,875, a sizable figure hereabouts. The colt by Fairaris Noon Maid deserved the honor, not only for his superiority in the division but on the basis of prospective to become one of the all time greats in Canadian racing. He remains as future favorite for the 95th running of the Queens Plate on June 12. Mrs. Gordon McMacken, whose colors have been prominent in Ontario racing these many years, admits that she has has never owned a horse quite as good as King Maple, though she has had a few who qualified as "good ones." She has been a bidder and buyer at yearling sales and she explored breeding farms for available material for what might be termed a "modest stable." It was on one of these exploring mis- sions when she discovered an appealing colt at breeder Don McClellands farm. She became the owner through a sort of pack-: age deal which, required that another colt would be included in the sale. The price for the two was ,700, and thus the owner of Canadas Horse of the Year qualifies as an excellent judge of yearlings. With an eye to the accomplishments of King Maple, affectionately labelled "Country Bumpkin" by local writers watching the antics of the rugged colt, Mrs. McMackeh returned to the same breeders to purchase his full sister, Queen Maple. The - filly graduated in her second start, on May 31 at Woodbine Park in a four and one-half-furlongs test, when she romped home four and three-quarters lengths ahead of her contemporaries. The McMackens look to the Maples, both King and Queen, to add a-fillip to Ontario racing. Daily Racing Forms dinner will be attended by prominent racing folk from the United States and Canada including officials, association executives, some of the leading owners and breeders and the turfwriters. Nelson Dunstan, columnist for Daily Racing Form and The Morning Telegraph, will act as toastmaster at the dinner. Among the guests will be J. H. Addison, T. I. Anderson, W. G. Angus, Magistrate S. Tupper Bigelow, chairman of the Ontario Racing Commission; H. C. Burton, H. J. Carmichael, J. L. Cook, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cook, Justin Cork, J. C. Cowan, Eric Cradockr W. Fitzgerald, F. S. Gardiner, chairman of the Metropolitan Council; R. Y. Graul, J. W. Hanna, of the ORC;, Carr Hatch, G. C. Hendrie, Howard Johnston, D. A. Macintosh, Col. K. R. Marshal, L. M. McCarthy, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. McDougald, Brig. C. S. McKee, John Mooney, Col. L. H. Nelles, F. S. Orpen, M. D. Richardson, J. E. F. Seagram, V. J. Sheridan, J. E-. Small-man, Jdhn Stuart, A. I. Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Taylor, J. F. Tobin and George Weale. Among those whose opinions contributed to naming "King Maple" as Canadas Horse of the Year for 1953 were R. W Hewitson, sports editor of the Telegram; Jim Vipond, sports editor of the Globe and Mail; Milt Dunnell, sports editor of the Daily Star; George "Appas Tappas" Oliver of the Globe; Joe Perlove of the Star; Donald Cowie of the Globe and the following Daily Racing Form staffers: Frank Armstrong, Jack Ayers, Reginald Ball, Douglas Cooper, Stanley Feeney, Bert Walsh and Charles Walsh. King Maple took nine ballots as prime choice, while the other ballots were divided with two votes for Chain Reaction and one each to Canadiana and Navy Page.
