by Melissa Keith

Next Friday (July 5) will be current Woodbine standardbred race secretary Tony O’Sullivan’s last day on the job, as Woodbine Mohawk Park welcomes Jim Gillespie to the role. The news was first announced in a June 19 Woodbine media release.

O’Sullivan had been race secretary since Dec. 1, 2021. He was profiled in HRU in June 2022.

Gillespie is a seasoned beginner, thanks to working as assistant Woodbine standardbred race secretary since November 2020. He previously worked for his father, trainer Tim Gillespie.

Tim has been an active trainer since 1994, when he sent out his first trainee, Brigadier Indy (p, 4, 1:57.1h; $59,287), at Woodbine Racetrack, winning with him two starts later at Belleville. The Grafton, ON horseman has 253 wins and $2,073,740 in purse earnings from 1,965 starts as a trainer, most recently on March 1, 2024 at Woodbine Mohawk Park with Wildcat Star (p, 4, 1:51.2s; $142,077), who lowered her lifetime mark that race.

Tim’s son Jim shared his interest in the sport and also decided to pursue a career in the harness racing industry. The younger Gillespie took a different route, after being introduced to the Woodbine Mohawk Park race office by a friend.

“My good friend Mark McKelvie [Woodbine Entertainment’s senior manager of communications] approached me with the idea one day,” Jim told HRU.

The incoming WMP race secretary said that his basic interest in following live racing at Mohawk soon led to an unexpected opportunity at the Campbellville, ON track.

“I was always around the track talking horses with everyone, and I believe [VP of Standardbred Racing for Woodbine Entertainment] Bill McLinchey mentioned to Mark that I might be a good candidate to work in the race office,” Jim said. “I gave it some thought, and we had some conversations that took off and I started late in 2020.”

He learned from two former WMP race secretaries before his recent promotion to the position.

“I think I had the best of both worlds,” Jim said. “I got to start under Scott McKelvie, who had 40 years of experience. You couldn’t get any better than Scott to learn from and see how he handled situations. Then Tony [O’Sullivan] came in and it was good to see first-hand how he navigated taking over the role. Tony had lots of ideas and I really enjoyed working with him.”

The race secretary position is important from the perspectives of both horsepeople and bettors.

“Keeping it simple, it’s our job to put together the cards of racing and to put together the most competitive races possible,” Jim said. “We create the condition sheets, conduct the draws, handle driver changes, line up the qualifiers and lots of other duties that aren’t that fancy.”

While he had helped out with his father’s horses in the past, Jim said that ended when he began his new career path.

“I stopped working with the horses when I took the job in the race office,” Jim said. “Up until then I was driving a little and was very active in the barn with my dad.”

U.S. Trotting Association records show that Jim drove in 449 races between 2012-20, winning 47 times and earning $169,790 in purses.

His most recent victory was Sept. 5, 2020 at Kawartha Downs, winning an Ontario Sires Stakes Prospect Series leg for 2-year-old filly pacers with Blake McIntosh trainee Beach Moment (p, 5, 1:51.0m; $179,691). His last drive was also with Beach Moment, finishing fifth at Flamboro Downs on Oct. 11, 2020 in an Ontario Autumn Series leg for 2- and 3-year-old filly pacers.

As race secretary at Canada’s top harness track, Jim now faces a different kind of competition: Continuing to attract sufficient quality and quantity of horses to race at WMP despite ongoing industry-wide issues with horse shortages.

“We’re trying to make Mohawk for everyone by having classes that cover a lot of levels while maintaining our commitment to world class racing,” Jim said. “Being accommodating and understanding of what we have is important, but we also want to show those not racing at Mohawk the opportunities that are available.”

With Mohawk currently racing five nights a week, Jim said he is not content to stay with the status quo with regard to classifications.

“We’re always looking for more horses, so that means constantly reviewing the sheet,” he said. “We’re always open to new ideas.”

Crossing over from hands-on horseman to assistant race secretary and now race secretary brings new challenges, but not without support from within the WMP racing community.

“You always get feedback from the horsemen on ideas or thoughts of things we can do,” Jim said. “I will say that I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from many trainers and drivers since my new position was announced. I want to keep those relationships strong.”

McLinchey said, “Jim is a great replacement for Tony [O’Sullivan], having had time to grow in our race office. Anyone that’s spoken to or dealt with Jim knows he has a great knowledge and passion for the sport and we’re confident he’ll succeed in his new role.”

Jim will oversee the daily duties of the standardbred race office, including all draws for Woodbine Mohawk Park and Grand River Raceway, beginning on Monday (July 5).