A bike ride past Truro Raceway eventually landed Ben Hollingsworth in the winner’s circle
by Matthew Lomon
If there were ever an award recognizing the most interesting man in harness racing, Ben Hollingsworth would have as strong a claim as anyone.
“There aren’t many jobs in this industry that I haven’t done at some point or another,” said the Truro, NS native. “When I was a kid, I was charting races. I was timing races. I worked in the race office helping out. I’ve done the numbers at the track. I’ve trained horses. I’ve groomed horses. I’ve driven horses. I was a vet assistant for a while – I’ve done it all… It’s cool, after doing all those little things throughout the years, to be in the big leagues now.”
A trainer by definition, the multi-talented Hollingsworth has spent the better part of 15 years sharpening his craft – then at his hometown Truro Raceway and now at harness ovals across Ontario.
His journey to the “big leagues,” as the Guelph-based horseman coined it, originated from humble beginnings.
Horses had always been a constant presence in his life. His father and grandfather owned several, and he even looked after a pony of his own.
What Hollingsworth had rarely been around was racehorses. However, that changed for good following a chance encounter over the 2004 Easter weekend.
“I got a new bike for Easter, took it for a ride, and ended up at the racetrack,” Hollingsworth said. “When I stopped there, I just happened to walk into the barn of Phil and Dale Pinkney, and I’ve been there every weekend and day since.”
Wandering into the barn of an O’Brien Award-winning horseman like Phil Pinkney — out of complete happenstance — at no more than 13-years-old was tantamount to hitting the harness racing jackpot.
“They took me under their wing, made me part of their family, and taught me everything right from the ground up,” Hollingsworth said. “I started sweeping the floor of the barn – I didn’t even know the difference between a mare and a stud.”
He remains eternally grateful for his time with Phil, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 84, and the lifelong memories gained from learning under one of Atlantic Canada’s most admired horsemen.
“Phil would pick me up after school on Fridays, let me stay at his house, and we’d spend all day Saturday at the barn,” Hollingsworth said. “Saturday night, we’d watch Mohawk races on TV, and all those great horses like Admirals Express and Primetime Bobcat. Sunday morning, we’d go back to the barn and spend all day at the track, then he’d take me home after the races.
“I spent so much time with those guys; they taught me everything I know.”
Hollingsworth obtained his trainer’s license in 2009, five years after strolling into the Pinkney barn by chance.
He didn’t waste any time translating the lessons from his mentors into a winning moment, which came in his third career start with Artsplace pacer Allamerican Parade on Dec. 6 at Truro.
“It came in 2:09, around there [2:08.2],” Hollingsworth said with a laugh. “I remember it was the middle of winter, really cold, and the track was frozen like concrete – we probably shouldn’t have raced, but we did.
“Doing it with that horse, who was given to me because the owner didn’t want him anymore, was really special. It was cool to reach the winner’s circle with my own horse and my own equipment – that was my ‘I made it’ moment.”
While firmly on the right path, Hollingsworth still had a few stops to make before going all-in on his racing dream.
In 2012, he enrolled at Dalhousie University to pursue a degree in Animal Science, which he obtained in May 2015.
During his time at the Halifax institution, Hollingsworth wore several hats, including horse trainer, scholar, and columnist at the Atlantic Post.
“They have somebody to cover every track, so I covered everything going on at Truro,” he said, adding with a laugh, “It was just something different. Writing is something I should do more of, but I’m happy doing what I’m doing right now.”
Hollingsworth’s extracurricular ventures also saw him travel across the United States with the Harness Horse Youth Foundation, educating children about horsemanship, animal care, and racing fundamentals.
Through his work with the foundation, Hollingsworth found himself working summers for Lindy Farms in Connecticut.
In his words, he “fell in love with the place.”
After working for Frank M. Antonacci and Lindy, Hollingsworth connected with trainer Tony Alagna the following summer.
The accomplished conditioner made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
“He said to me, ‘I have a job for you wherever you want to go, U.S., Canada, doesn’t matter, but if you come back and you want to work for me, you’ll get to look after Artspeak,’” Hollingsworth said. “And that’s what I did.”
Hollingsworth became the 2014 Metro Pace winner’s caretaker after graduation, watching in awe as the lightning-fast bay captured the 2015 Simcoe in 1:48.2 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
“To have him be one of the first horses I looked after in Ontario was incredible,” he said.
Hollingsworth’s run as the groom for superstar pacers continued in the summer of 2018, when he followed future dual Hall of Famer McWicked on the road.
It was a magical run for the lifetime earner of more than $5 million, who captured the William R. Haughton Memorial, Allerage Farms Open Pace, Dan Rooney Invitational Pace, Ben Franklin, and Breeders Crown, all while under Hollingsworth’s care.
He ended up putting his bonus from the sizzling stretch towards claiming his first horse, Lautner Seelster, in early 2019.
While the now retired Santanna Blue Chip gelding didn’t pan out as hoped, Hollingsworth’s determination to live out his dream never wavered.
When his perseverance was challenged again soon after, he had a decision to make.
“I was working for Rod Boyd in 2020, but it was three-a-head at one point, so Rod decided to slow down operations,” Hollingsworth said. “I either had to go find another job or try things on my own.”
Hollingsworth opted for the latter – but adversity wasn’t finished with him just yet.
“I went through a global pandemic and a strangles shutdown within the first six months of going out on my own,” he said. “If I could make it through those two things, everything else would be easy.”
Admittedly, there were times when Hollingsworth questioned whether he’d make it through, but he always found the answers.
Hollingsworth began to grow his client base through advertisements on Standardbred Canada – with the first call coming from respected Ontario horseman Murray Brethour.
The winner of nearly 3,400 races lifetime pitched Hollingsworth on a trial run with Big Jim filly, My Mother Pearl.
It’s fair to say the experiment was a success.
“She had, I think, $400 made when she came to the barn,” Hollingsworth said. “She ended up finishing her racing career with over $215,000 and a mark of 1:53.”
Hollingsworth purchased the now 9-year-old mare halfway through her 4-year-old year. She remains with him to this day and is currently in foal to Century Farroh.
“She’s been amazing,” he said. “I owe almost all of what I got to her.”
Today, Hollingsworth and his stable of one dozen tour the Ontario circuit, leaving their mark on tote boards from Clinton Raceway to Kawartha Downs.
Through 43 starts this season, Hollingsworth sports a 10-5-8 record with nearly $90,000 in prizes.
He’s eclipsed at least $230,000 in four straight years, including a career-best $365,432 and 32 wins last season.
With help from his “fantastic” stable-hand River Thomas, Hollingsworth sends out a consistent weekly contingent headlined by “classy old boys” Insanity, Lord Anthony, and Batterup Hanover.
“Those old boys, I can put them in every week and know that they’re going to come up with a good effort,” Hollingsworth said. “That’s been huge. They carry the team.”
Complementing the veteran trio is a cast of youngsters in Major Miki, who set a 1:54 mark in his second career start, Pelican Bay, and Mai Tide, who went five-for-six last season with an eight-length triumph in the London Classic Sale final at The Raceway at Western Fair District.
Doing right by his horses, his loyal owners like Michael Goldberg, Debbie Francis, and Rosanne Langille, and the countless people who supported him at every stop along the way is what drives Hollingsworth to make each season better than the last.
The East Coast kid with a well-rounded resume wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s been a lot of long days, late nights, and early mornings but that’s what you do,” Hollingsworth said. “The numbers have been good, but we like to do our work, race our horses, stay out of everybody’s way, quietly make a name for ourselves, and hopefully somebody notices.
“It would be nice to move more to the big track [Mohawk], but that’s hard to do. If we can have a little luck this summer, maybe by next summer, we’ll be there.”
