The veteran race caller returns after a six-month recovery from a training accident to begin his 25^th year at Canada’s top harness track.

by Melissa Keith

On Jan. 15, a familiar voice returned to Woodbine Mohawk Park for the first time in many months. Regular announcer Ken Middleton was back to call the races, beginning his 25th year with Woodbine Entertainment in typical strong form.

He told HRU that his long absence from the track gave him a moment of hesitation when he arrived at Mohawk on Monday.

“When I first stepped out of my truck, it felt kind of odd, because I was just setting myself up for the fear of maybe something going wrong,” he said. “As it turned out, it didn’t. I just went in and did the [pre-game show] interview with [WMP racing analyst] Elissa [Blowe]… Our crew had it all mapped out perfectly, so it was just like having a conversation on the phone or sitting down with somebody at a table, having a coffee.”

After the encouraging interview about his comeback, he said the rest came easy.

“When I got in the announcer’s booth, it was like I was just there the day before,” Middleton said. “The only real difference was there were some new horses that I hadn’t called, obviously. Just that little bit of unfamiliarity. That was really it; everything else was very seamless.”

Middleton’s race-calling career began when he was just 16 years old, at Flamboro Downs. He left to join Woodbine Entertainment in 1998, when he was 28. He has been the regular Mohawk race-caller since 2006. When he was seriously injured in a training accident last year, the resulting absence from work was his longest ever.

“It was a long time away, for sure,” he said. “It was the end of June, so upwards of six months [away].”

Being behind the mic again was relatively simple for the accomplished announcer, who said he had no idea how many races he’s called over his career. It was getting back to training horses and everyday life that was the original challenge, as Middleton recovered from the accident and complications.

“The initial thing, obviously, was to get over dealing with pain, and healing,” he said. “But down the road, I think it’s about pain management and getting in the right frame of mind. So, what really, really helped me, the biggest improvement I saw, has come as the result of seeing a neurologist in late November for an EMG [electromyography] test, which tests your nerves. He got me on a radically different group of meds, and I started taking those just before Christmas… I was maybe 40 per cent; after taking the meds now, I’m probably looking at 70 or 80 per cent. That’s how much of an enormous jump I’ve made.”

Middleton also made the leap back into training horses again, after the removal of a PICC (peripherally-inserted central catheter) line which delivered intravenous antibiotics into his arm.

“The surgeon who operated on me a number of months ago told me, ‘Once you get that out of your arm, wait a couple of weeks and then challenge yourself to do a little bit more each day,” Middleton said. “It’s not going to hurt you to go and do certain things. You’ve got to regain your strength and mobility and flexibility.’ So, I’ve been coming to the barn for quite some time now. I’m getting stronger, but I realized I still have limitations.”

Middleton said he lives close to his horses and where they train, making his journey back to the barn a little easier.

“I have my own private house and farm,” he said. “It’s a small hobby farm, where I have my broodmares. It’s in Cambridge, ON. Basically, the training center that I’m at is two minutes down the road from where I live. It’s Shamrock Training Centre. I’m fortunate in that regard.”

He added that he was also fortunate to have friends like multiple O’Brien Trainer of the Year Richard Moreau, 2023 O’Brien Award of Horsemanship finalist Dr. Ian Moore, and other horsepeople who were able to do what he could not.

“When I originally got hurt, [Moreau] had a truck and trailer here at Shamrock Training Center to pick up the racehorses that I had in training and that were currently racing,” Middleton said. “So, he helped me out, and guys like Ben Hollingsworth, Dale Spence, Ryan Desroche, have helped me out with driving and helping warm up, because we’re limited and can’t go out and warm up the horses on race night. So, they’ve been great.”

Middleton said he’s able to jog horses again, although he is currently careful about it.

“At first, it was just sort of overseeing everything [at the barn] and doing very limited stuff like making feeds,” he said. “I have started getting back [on the track]. The right type of horse, I’ll jog and stuff like that. You know, it’s got to be really quiet. I’m just very aware of that. I kind of had to just get it out of my mind. It’s what I enjoy, too. You can’t give up your whole life, fearful of things.”

He was rewarded with recent wins by trainees Dont Poke The Bear (p, 3, 1:55.3s; $83,576) on Jan. 11 at Flamboro and Little Missy May (p, 2, 1:55.2s; $22,115) on Jan. 16 at The Raceway at Western Fair. He co-owns the horses with James Grant and Dave Walls, both of Sarnia, ON. Jane Watkins of Oshawa, ON shares ownership with them on Pretty Missy May, while Middleton’s niece Kendal Middleton also co-owns Dont Poke The Bear.

“It’s just a great sense of satisfaction, because they’re all homebreds,” said the WMP race-caller. “It makes my family feel good too, because they’re all here working hard, and it’s good for my owners; they’re all great guys. Nothing’s better than winning a race. You get to go out and buy donuts for everybody the next morning in the barn.”

To this day, Ken is unsure of what caused his life-altering accident. But he said he doesn’t want to name the horse involved, because it did not intend to hurt him.

“I don’t want people to get a feeling that the horse did something wrong,” he said. “He was the quietest, nicest horse… I’m not 100 per cent sure why the horse did what he did… I think he got scared of something… I got flipped basically right out of the jog cart, and when I hit the ground is when I suffered the injuries. When the horse spun real quick and I flipped out of the jog cart and hit the ground, that’s when I knew I was in trouble.”

His love for working hands-on with the horses has come back with full strength, even as his physical rehabilitation remains incomplete. Ken said his stable is growing, literally and figuratively.

“I have three broodmares, all in foal, some of which are owned by some of my owners,” he said. “I have four horses in training right now at Shamrock Training Center: Dont Poke The Bear, Pretty Missy May, Bob Loblaw (p, 3, 1:50.3s; $202,744) is still here — he’s on the comeback trail — and a horse that’s qualified once and he’s almost ready to get back to racing. His name is Camealongway (p, 2, 1:52.2s; $97,378). He’s 5.

“I just claimed a horse the other night and we gave him to Richard Moreau to train. My buddies and I and my brother chipped in and claimed a horse named Music To My Gears [p, 12, 1:52.2s; $78,531]. He’s a stallion and he’s a Lasix horse, so it’s tough for our set-up to deal with something like that.”

Ken said resuming work with his horses was encouraging, and he experienced “a different flood of emotions” in his first night back at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

“You gain a bit more normalcy back in your life every day, so this is the next step, working again,” he said. “I needed to get back to work from a financial perspective… But also, internally as well. You have a certain group of friends and colleagues at work which you admire, and you respect their friendship and you miss them, too.”

The announcers who filled in for him when he was recovering earned a special round of compliments, as well.

“I have great admiration for all of them, and for my boss [Mark McKelvie] too, because he’s the one who had to assemble it all, like trying to round up rock bands for Live Aid,” Ken said. “I know it was a big deal for them, because WEG is a big deal… I was a young guy once, and I used to marvel at the thought of, ‘Man, it would be so cool to come here and call races someday!’

“You take that for granted a little bit, but in the back of your mind, you know when people like [Kawartha Downs’] Evan Loucks and [Rideau Carleton’s] John MacMillan, that aren’t [at WMP] all the time get a chance to come here and call, it’s a big deal, and it’s a big responsibility, and it’s a lot of fun. I felt good for those guys because they had a chance to enjoy that, and they all did marvelous jobs.”

Canada’s best-known current harness announcer called the barrage of well wishes from friends, fans, and horsepeople “really humbling.” He said he would be back in the booth for the Thursday (Jan. 18) WMP card and onward, with other exciting plans soon to be announced.

“There’s been a lot of tough days, trust me; it seemed like there was a black cloud hovering over my barn and myself,” he said. “Maybe 2024 is telling us that it’s going to be a turnaround year where things are going to go our way.”