Harness racing is coded in Ryan Steward’s DNA
by Matthew Lomon
No matter which direction a young Ryan Steward turned his head, there was almost always a horseman on the other end of his sight.
“My dad [Randy] was in it, my grandfather [Larry Fitzsimmons] was in it, my uncles [Rick and Rod] were in it, my stepfather’s [Ray Bunn] in it, my brother [Nick] drives – everybody’s in,” he told HRU.
With the racing bug already coded in his DNA, it was only natural that Ryan would follow his family into a life at the racetrack.
“When you’re brought up in it, it’s in your blood – it’s a part of you,” he said. “You love the animal, and you love to compete. It just feels normal.”
A regular on the Ontario circuit after obtaining his trainer’s license in 2014, Ryan spent his childhood gaining knowledge and first-hand experience from those who raised him in the sport.
Through his uncle Rick Steward, who spent 10-plus years working under Hall of Famer Bob McIntosh after running his own stable, a young Ryan relished opportunities to tour the renowned horseman’s operation.
The eye-opening, and “very cool” encounters were balanced with other core memories stemming from days with his grandfather, Larry Fitzsimmons and stepfather, Ray Bunn.
“The memories have come from all over,” Ryan said. “My grandfather’s got over 1,000 wins [1,144]. Just going with him to the races or the barn at a young age, being, and working around horses, really stands out.
“As I grew up, working with my stepdad brought a lot of good memories. We had a fairly big stable at one point when I was a kid. We had some nice success, too.”
The racing memory at, or at least near, the very top of Ryan’s fondest with Bunn came on May 2, 2014, at The Raceway at Western Fair.
The moment — Ryan’s first career training win, courtesy of then 9-year-old pacer Keystone Samurai — was a full-circle special for the Steward-Bunn clan.
“She was a horse that me, my stepdad, and a couple other people actually bought as a yearling,” Ryan said. “We had her and won a few [Ontario Sires Stakes] Grassroots races
with her [2007-08], and then, unfortunately, we had to sell her.
“I kept track of her over the years, and ended up buying her back, and she was who I got my first win with.”
Sent off at 45-1, the longest price in the field of eight, the bay daughter of Camluck—Keystone Skyline registered the strongest final quarter (:30.3) in the octet to reach the wire a half-length clear.
The spirited showing remains eternally etched in Ryan’s mind.
“She was second in her first start for me and just about won [March 17, 2014],” he said. “She missed a few checks after that and then she had the 7-hole and won my first start.
“That one was, and still is, quite special.”
In the years that followed, Ryan patiently built his brand at raceways all over Ontario.
The Lucan-based conditioner saw his stock reach unprecedented heights in 2022, when on the strength of a 12-14-23 line (114 starts), he celebrated his first season above $100,000 in purse earnings.
The breakout campaign served as a launchpad for Ryan’s most potent season yet, which came in 2023, and featured what still holds as his most exhilarating victory.
With the end of the calendar year in sight, Ryan, and then 3-year-old pacer Leave It To Luther, saved their best for last in the Ontario Harvest Series.
“Going into it, I thought he was a fringe player,” Ryan said. “But after he won the first two legs, I thought if he drew well in the final, he might have a shot. Then he drew the 9-hole. It was a great feeling winning a race going for $50,000.”
Working with James MacDonald, who in January earned an unprecedented fifth straight Driver of the Year title at the O’Brien Awards, the Betterthancheddar bay stopped the clock in 1:53.1 – three-quarters-of-a-length safe.
The signature score lifted Ryan’s season earnings total to a career-best $183,967 across 177 starts (24-22-25).
He has since eclipsed the $100,000 mark twice more, bringing his active streak above that threshold to four straight seasons.
Keeping consistent, though, is not a one-trick pony.
“There’s a lot of luck and racing the horses where they can go and make the most money,” Ryan said. “You try not to race them over their heads and place them wherever they fit in the best.
“There’s obviously a lot of hard work involved in getting them ready to race, because you have to execute too, but you have to have some good fortune as well.”
Classifying horses “correctly,” as Ryan put it, is one of those seemingly simple measures that can become overly complicated in a hurry if not handled judiciously.
“It does nobody any good if you race them over their heads, you risk them losing their confidence,” he said. “That’s maybe been one of my downfalls. I like the horses too much and I don’t really want to see them get claimed but the next point is that it’s a business and you have to try to race somewhere they can make money.”
In times of classifying confusion, Ryan returns to the words of his stepfather, Bunn, for answers.
“He told me, ‘If you’re racing claimers and you leave home, worrying about them getting claimed, then you have them in the right class,’” Ryan said.
The steadiest presence in the race bike for Ryan’s trainees has been none other than his brother, driver Nick Steward.
At one point, and still to this day, to a degree, Ryan himself imagined a career in the sulky, but once Nick obtained his license, the need dissipated.
Ryan has employed Nick’s services almost exclusively since joining his younger brother on the Ontario tour in 2014.
They may butt heads on occasion, like brothers do, but Ryan wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s been good,” Ryan said, adding with a laugh. “We don’t always see eye to eye, but it’s more of that brotherly bond. I get madder at him than I do anybody else just because he’s my brother. That’s just the family dynamic. I’m six years older than him too, so it’s just one of those things… I hate the guy, but I love him at the same time.
“But no, Nick can really do it all. He’ll listen to me, and if it’s a young horse and the horse needs a trip, he’ll do exactly what you say as best he can, and if it’s one that you like to see get off the wings, he can do that too.”
With his family by his side, Ryan has shown no signs of slowing down in 2026 – his 12th year on the job.
The now veteran conditioner is responsible for 11 horses, a list headlined by 8-year-old pacing mare, Shady Memories.
“She’s an eight-claimer, but she won 11 races last year for a horse that was brought in from the Amish,” Ryan said. “She made $42,000 last year. She did really well.”
Also, on Ryan’s roster of racehorses is pacing mare Odds On Selenium, veteran gelding Silver Spirit, and a pair of 3-year-olds in J M Ooh Lala and J M Mazingan, who won by eight lengths on Feb. 4 at Western Fair.
For Ryan, “priority number one” is ensuring his horses are healthy, fit, and ready to race.
While easier said than done, the kid with harness racing in his blood always has somewhere to turn.
“It’s growing up in the business, branching out, and working for different people, seeing how they do things, taking what you can and trying to apply to your craft and seeing where it goes,” he said. “Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to be around the right people.”
