From rink to racetrack, London Knights coach Dale Hunter eyes cup sweep at Woodbine

National Post

a day ago

MILTON — Dale Hunter has a shot at a rare championship double.
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Two weeks ago, the former NHL star coached the OHL's London Knights to a Memorial Cup title. On Saturday night, he'll look to add the $1-million Pepsi North America Cup to his impressive sports resume.
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Hunter is the co-owner of Crack Shot, an Ontario-sired three-year-old pacing colt that will run Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park in one of harness racing's richest events. Owning a piece of a champion racehorse was the dying wish of Hunter's father, Dick, the patriarch of a Canadian hockey dynasty.
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All four of Dick Hunter's sons played Major Junior A hockey, and three — including Dale — reached the NHL. Dick also had a passion for standardbred horses, often keeping them on the family farm in Petrolia, Ont.
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'We would always buy horses for $20,000, $30,000, in that range,' Dale Hunter told Ontario Racing. 'But before my dad passed away, he said, 'I left you a lot of money, go buy a decent horse.''
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That was Crack Shot, a horse purchased for US$205,000 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale exactly three weeks after Dick Hunter died Sept. 12, 2023, at the age of 87.
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'Just to get a horse to race (in North America Cup eliminations) last week, (dad) would be saying, 'Oh, we did pretty well,'' Hunter said. 'Then to get to the big race, he would say, 'I know this will never happen again. You better enjoy it.''
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And that's exactly the plan.
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On Saturday, Dale Hunter and nearly 40 friends and family will take the Knights' team bus to Woodbine Mohawk Park, where Crack Shot will start from Post 8 in a 10-horse field in Canada's richest pacing race.
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'(Dad) would have been the first one waiting for the bus. He wouldn't want to miss it,' said Hunter. 'He loved horses, and we grew up with horses, and it's just fun to have all the family together. We'll be telling stories about dad and everybody else. That's what it is all about.'
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'Both hockey and horse racing draw your family and friends together. It's hard to get everybody together; you have to have a good reason. Now, our horse is racing in the biggest race, and they all want to come, which is awesome. We get to see each other and have fun again.'
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Crack Shot was second in his elimination race last weekend and is the fourth choice in the morning line at 6-1 odds. The son of 2001 North America Cup champion Bettors Delight is campaigned by the father-son team of trainer Gregg McNair and driver Doug McNair, both of Guelph, Ont.
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Gregg McNair and Dale Hunter share ownership of Crack Shot with Frank Brundle of East Garafraxa, Ont., and George Kerr of Gowanstown, Ont.
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As head coach and part-owner of the Knights, Hunter has won five OHL titles and led the franchise to three Memorial Cup championships — 2005, 2016 and 2025. He's only the second coach in Canadian Hockey League history to have more than 1,000 wins to his credit.