Faces At The Races: Joan Petrowski

In fact, after winning the 2011 Northlands Park trainer’s title with 48 wins, Petrowski is currently fifth in all of Canada (by meet wins, through Nov. 22) behind Woodbine’s Mark Casse (113), Reade Baker (54), Hastings’ Troy Taylor (53) and Assiniboia Downs’ Ardell Sayler (50). “It feels pretty good, I am happy it turned out so well,” said Petrowski, 65, a woman of few words.

Petrowski passed last year’s leading trainer Robertino Diodoro, who won 45 races, to take the title and her 327 runners earned over $706,000. She had previously been named trainer of the year in 2002 and had another highlight in 2007 when Doug Blair’s Footprint won the Canadian Derby.

“It’s been close to 40 years in the game for me,” said Petrowski, who rode horses as a child while growing up near Innisfree, Alberta. By the time she was 25, she owned horses in partnership, “pieces here and there” before a few became a lot more.

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She took out her trainer’s license near the same time and has loved every minute of her years teaching racehorses using the ‘truck training’ method on her Viking Farms. “At the end of each season, I get ready to break and train the young horses for the next season,” said Petrowski, who gets her horses accustomed to jogging behind her truck for training purposes.

It certainly has worked since Petrowski, often referred to as the ‘granddame’ of racing at Northlands, has built up a successful business which includes up to 45 horses in training at any one time.

Certainly a highlight of Petrowski’s 2011 season came when she brought back the seven-year-old Footprint to the races and watched the old-timer win the Spangled Jimmy Handicap. “He’s a wonderful horse,” said Petrowski, about the son of Gold Case. “I have been happy to have him all these years.”

Petrowski was also in the spotlight this year with the two-year-old Doug’s Buddy, the $7,500 yearling purchase owned by Blair. The son of Badge of Silver won the Edmonton Juvenile, Birdcatcher and Canadian Juvenile Stakes and earned over $100,000. Blair and Petrowski decided to give Doug’s Buddy a chance to run for big money on November 21 when the youngster competed in the $1 million Delta Jackpot Stakes at Delta Downs in Louisiana but the colt was bumped hard early in the race and faded to finish 10th.

In addition to her training prowess, Petrowski is well known for her generosity at year end at Northlands, handing out some extra cash to some of the less fortunate on the backstretch. “We always spend a certain amount of money on the horses so we also spend money on helping some people who don’t have as much,” said Petrowski. “Growing up in the country, I grew up with not much money. We grew our own food and learned how to make a living without having a pile of money.”

Heading into 2012, the lifetime winner of 892 races, has high hopes that the unsettled nature of the Alberta industry gets stabilized. That includes the movement to bettering the purses at the track or getting a long awaited new track for the province. “Everybody kind of gave up it seems: the track, the HBPA…” said Petrowski. “People still want to own horses; people want to come to the races. There is just a lack of people doing the right thing to promote the game. I hope we can improve the business.”

Indeed, having a high profile and top five trainer like Petrowski in the country located right in the heart of Edmonton will help attract attention to that province’s racing.