town pro
Bred and raised by Brian Webster and Ray Bednarz at Surge Stable in St. George, Ontario, world champion Town Pro was foaled on April 12, 1987. Purchased for $60,000 by Stew Firlotte at the 1988 Canadian Select Yearling sale, Town Pro was owned during her racing career by Pro Group Stable, trained by Firlotte and driven by Doug Brown.
In her 1989 freshman campaign, with earnings of $416,758, Town Pro was voted Dan Patch and O’Brien Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year. She recorded 12 wins in 13 starts, culminating with a Breeders Crown triumph at Pompano Park in 1:54.4f, a stakes record. Other wins included the Champlain Pace and Stewart Memorial.
At age three, Town Pro finished on the board in all of her 17 starts, including 14 wins, while earning $634,690, the most of that season’s three-year-old pacing fillies. On August 4, she held a world record 1:51.4 (her career mark) for all-age female pacers racing on a one-mile track. Along with her second Breeders Crown victory, other wins included the Tarport Hap, Ladyship Stake, Simcoe Stakes, American-National and Fan Hanover. Voted Dan Patch and O’Brien Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year, Town Pro became one of four pacing fillies to win back-to-back divisional honors at ages two and three, the others including Immortal Hall of Famers Three Diamonds, Silk Stockings and Handle With Care.
Town Pro continued racing at ages four and five, adding $178,134 to her total career earnings of $1,229,582. At the end of her 5-year-old season she was purchased by White Birch Farm in Allentown, New Jersey to begin her broodmare duties. Town Pro became a prolific producer, with 13 starters collectively earning $4,048,775. Her most accomplished offspring is her daughter Darlin’s Delight, a winner of $2.9 million and dam of million-dollar winner Darlinonthebeach.
In 2004 Town Pro was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. She died in her sleep at the age of 27 at her home at White Birch on October 26, 2014.