There was never any question about how passionate Francine Villeneuve was about horse racing and wanting to spread the joy of the sport to others. On the track, the Ottawa-born horse lover was a natural horseperson who set standards for other young riders, male and female, to follow. Off the track, she helped form a racing club for newcomers, spoke to fans and plied her trade as an agent and yearling consignor.
Sadly, Francine had recently been battling cancer and on June 5, one of the pioneers of Canadian race riding left us at just 61.
Francine grew up around horses with her mother and father, Eleanor and Ron, in Winchester Springs, Ontario and went to North Dundas District High School in the village of Chesterville. While attending Humber College for equine studies, she took a summer job at Woodbine Racetrack as a hot walker in 1984, and by 1987 she got her jockey license.
She made it known she had the skill and strength to be a top rider and she had success not only at Woodbine and Fort Erie, but rode in major races throughout North America. She even rode races in Jamaica and Turkmeninstan. She rode for Sam-Son Farms and trainer Jim Day, partnering her best girl Wilderness Song, to big wins and a super, second-place finish in the 1991 Queen’s Plate to her filly’s famous stablemate Dance Smartly. In 1994, she rode for Maryland trainer Richard Small and partnered Robert Meyerhoff’s top colt Concern to a second place finish in the Arkansas Derby. She won the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico about Cozy Blues too.
Fort Erie became a home for Francine and her family – she was second in the Prince of Wales Stakes on Autumn Snow.
Between some tough injuries, Francine rode for 25 years, had more than 8,000 mounts. She had two lengthy absences in addition to injuries: a year when she had her son Aaron and four years when she lived in Florida with husband Bruce Anderson. She returned after that four year break to win her 1,000th career race on Red Hot Doll, doing so at Fort Erie.
Francine co-founded the Sport of Queens with fellow jockey Amanda Roxborough, and dozens of new racing fans owned a part of the filly Queens Honor for a small fee. She formed FAV yearling consignment and sold yearlings for friend Dr. Brian Van Arem and became a jockey agent for Justin Stein and Slade Jones.
Soft-spoken but tenacious and dedicated, Francine paved the way for many in racing. She will be missed.
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