Tyler Moore has forged his own unique path despite his name
by Matthew Lomon
For some, the idea of carefully curating an identity in the same sphere as an esteemed parent could invite understandable trepidation.
For Tyler Moore, son of renowned horseman Dr. Ian Moore, sharing a last name with his Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame father is something he’s done his entire life – so, why should racing be any different?
“I don’t know how to say it,” Tyler said before a brief pause. “I definitely don’t disagree with any of those people that say the name and all that, it’s just not something that generally crosses my mind because I’m not worried about it.
“It’s not something where dad’s always at me about ‘being like this or being like that.’ He’s always wanting me to follow whatever I think.”
While the original plan was a prosperous hockey career, the logical — and only — next step once those prospects had plateaued, was to follow his dad into the standardbred world.
“I never really had any other ambitions,” Tyler said. “It was always horses and hockey.”
Tyler’s connection to the horses was undoubtedly inherent, but it was one strengthened by a childhood of indelible memories – several of which came at the beginning of every August.
Growing up in Prince Edward Island, Old Home Week, highlighted by the prestigious Gold Cup & Saucer at Charlottetown Driving Park, was an aspiring young horseman’s North Star.
“We would find out what Gold Cup & Saucer horses were coming to town, and being a little kid from PEI, seeing some of these big-name horses, trainers, and drivers, they were like rock stars,” Tyler said.
“I’d get so excited and couldn’t wait for those horses to arrive… I would literally be waiting at the barn for them to show up.”
On the list of standouts during a young Tyler’s Gold Cup & Saucer days were trainers Herb Holland, Bill Robinson, and Phil Coleman.
However, it was the memory of an interaction with driver Jody Jamieson that would prove both prescient and enduring.
“I remember Jody came to town and he gave me his driving gloves,” Tyler said. “They had rips and holes and everything, but he still signed them for me, and I kept them in my room — I don’t know for how long — and here now I see the guy almost daily, either at the gym, or on and off the track.”
Like Jamieson, who also grew up with a Hall of Fame father (trainer Carl Jamieson), Tyler’s main ambition was a career in the race bike.
After obtaining his driver’s license in 2010, Tyler, in his words, felt like he “was always on the fringe, but never close enough to really make a good living at it.”
His most memorable moment in the sulky came in 2012, when he fulfilled a childhood dream, capturing the 53rd Gold Cup & Saucer in a then track-record-equaling 1:51 with Cam’s Card Shark pacer, Eighteen.
On his way to the winner’s circle, the astonished hometown kid marveled, “I can barely keep my feet on the ground.”
Over the course of his full-time driving career (2012-23), Tyler picked up 765 of his 831 career wins, enjoying personal bests across the board in 2022 (974: 111-140-147; $879,837).
While the now Guelph, ON-based horseman still drives occasionally (93 starts in 2025, 287 in 2024), the second decade of his racing career has largely been defined by his work as a trainer.
But as Tyler noted, the shift wasn’t necessarily planned.
“Nobody really realizes or knows about this, but I got hurt pretty bad during the summer of my last full-time season [2023],” he said.
“I went down in an accident, just down the stretch, finishing. I didn’t break anything, and didn’t seem to have anything major wrong with me, but I took a big chunk of skin out my hip, and I ended up getting an infection, like a whole internal infection right to my toes.”
Despite the complications, Tyler, after a career-year, tried to soldier through the pain, only to exacerbate the situation.
“It really took a number on me because I’ve never felt like I’ve been the same,” he continued. “I always feel little tingling sensations and stuff like that on the right side of my body.
“I got hurt pretty bad and was out for a bit from that. I tried to still drive the odd night if I could with that big hole in my body, which was stupid, and probably why I got an infection.”
His reason for pushing ahead was simple: “I still had to drive to pay my bills… I had to try to compete and keep my work.”
With the risk eventually exceeding the reward, Tyler made the transition to training full-time in 2024.
Awaiting him was his father, a living horseman’s almanac, ready to field (almost) any ideas he brought forward.
“I never asked him anything about catch driving – he’s a terrible driver,” Tyler said with a laugh. “But he’s an encyclopedia when it comes to training a horse.”
Having grown up working for his dad, Tyler picked up several strategic and operational insights along the way.
“I’ve seen a lot in his barn, whether it be scheduling or training regimens, and I’ve followed suit with quite a lot of that,” Tyler said. “But I do have my own way as well. There are things I’ve picked up from his type of training that I implement, and then there are other methods that I choose that he agrees with as well.”
That altruistic back-and-forth between father and son is something the latter will never take for granted.
“There are a lot of times you’ll run into a crossroads as a horseman where you go this way or that way, and you’ve never been in this situation before,” Tyler said. “I’ll call him up and ask him, and he’s likely been there before. That’s a massive help.”
In all his gratitude for the countless lessons his father and mentor has bestowed upon him, Tyler has been able to teach his acclaimed dad a thing or two himself.
“My dad is very innovative; he’s always about adapting,” Tyler said. “In the last few years, he’s come to me to help with his babies, which is one of my passions in our sport.
“Obviously, my younger state makes a difference as opposed to him being in his 70s trying to break all these big young strong colts, which are a handful. But aside from that, there are ways I do it, and he lets me roll with it, and doesn’t tell me a thing.”
Tyler’s passion for breaking yearlings started at a young age, about 12, if he recalls correctly.
At the time, a pre-teen Tyler, weighing no more than 100 pounds, was fearless in developing his craft – so much so that he may have taken the “breaking” part a little too literally.
“I broke my pinky when I was like 12 years old breaking a Rustler Hanover colt,” he said with a laugh. “Most people’s parents wouldn’t allow that at all but here I am breaking a big Rustler Hanover stud colt.”
Looking back, was the damaged digit worth it?
“Oh yeah,” he replied without hesitation.
Following in his dad’s footsteps has been a full-range experience for Tyler.
With triumphs have come setbacks, and with setbacks, new beginnings. Through it all, the second-generation horseman has forged a path that is undeniably and uniquely his.
Learn more about Tyler’s story and training career in filmmaker Jeremy Grabatin’s (DeadHeatFilms) profile documentary, Tyler Moore’s Yearling Lineup, which provides an all-access look into the horses and people behind Tyler Moore Racing Stable.
