LONDON, 1970s .. Hot-Walker novel has international intrigue!

Escape to London, 1974-75

 Following the path of Hot-Walker ... a close group of high school friends from the mid 1960s go their separate way following the murder of Francine Harrison's American fiance, John Mencini, at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. Horse racing and their years together become a distant but haunting memory as she recovers, grieving and waiting for answers to the horrific killing she witnessed. Feeling it is time to move on as the years pass by, Francine leaves her friends in Toronto, escaping to Europe in 1972, whereby new relationships unfold. She eventually moves to London .... always waiting for notification of trial requesting her return to Toronto.

Francine's years  in London during the mid 1970s were emotional and unsettling, full of change as history was being made throughout the country as well as in the rest of the world. It was a time of many Pub bombings, which happened everywhere from local neighborhood haunts to the busiest Tube stations along rush hour routes. There was a Fuel crisis and the government issued new speed limits to save gas at a time of Arab fuel embargoes. Inflation soared to 17.2%, an unbelievable increase.

The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher defeated Edward Heath in the Conservative party leadership election at age 49 and parliament was under new unfamiliar leadership, for many politicians. The country was devastated with terrorism, train crashes, and protests that made headlines around the world, weekly. The airports were guarded, locations closed and yet the workers scrambled daily to work as London held its own. The number of jobless reached 1.25 million.

In the entertainment field, Led Zeppelin played at Earls Court with 5 sold-out concerts, and the first public performance by punk rock band Sex Pistols performed publicly. Fashion, music, sports never paused a beat as the rest of the country tried to keep up with the changes of its own growing pains.

                 

Women were recognized publicly, even in the field of education as five all male colleges accepted women undergraduates. In fact, the first female rabbi in Britain – Jackie Tabick was announced. These shocking changes took many Brits by surprise as England was altering its ways. The country became part of the European Space Agency and in transportation, Britain’s first production small hatchback was launched by Vauxhall Chevette.  On television the first episode of the series Fawlty Towers televised and immediately became a big hit across the land. 

    

Car racing was a popular sport in England even before Sterling Moss drove, but for fans all over the world, when race car driver Graham Hill died in an air crash at the age of 46, it was a shock that upset the whole racing community.

On a lighter note, the new Covent Garden Market, which was the largest wholesale fruit and vegetable and flower market in UK (SW London) covering 57 acres in Nine Elms, opened for business and was a huge success.

The 1975 record rainfall at 169 mm fell in the prestigious area Hampstead Heath in 155 minutes leaving the residents in a state of panic and discord which took months to clear and repair damages.

London, 1974-75

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HEROs ... Canadian Women Jockeys... from Hot-Walker Novel.

Women Jockeys in Canadian Racing

Hot-Walker, the sports-crime novel, explores the ins-and-outs of thoroughbred racing, including the introduction of Karen Sharp, woman jockey. A novel about life on the fast track during the 1960s, and the relationships of  those living in Yorkville and working on the racetrack.

Looking back over the years when racing experienced a time of introspection and growth, Jockeys' rooms at virtually every racetrack were described as dark, dingy, overcrowded, lacking in recreational areas, without proper reducing facilities, no eating and resting spaces, and very little room to move about and work. The jockeys' rooms were not a priority to management but the Jockeys' Guild and its representatives set about a campaign to improve conditions both on and off the track. Jockeys still had very few rights when dealing with stewards. If a steward did not like a rider's looks, they could, and often did, tell that rider to go somewhere else to ride. There was still widespread abuse of a jockey's rights to work his trade.

The popular ‘big names’ and leading riders of the 1940s were Adams, Arcaro, Atkinson, Meade and Longden, who continued to dominate in the early 1950s but were joined by a new name; Shoemaker. After completing his sophomore year of racing with 388 victories, good for a tie in the leading rider standings, Shoe­maker topped all riders in earnings in 1950 with over $ I-million.

Another fact to be reckoned with for jockeys was women entering their ranks. Although women jockeys were barred from riding at registered race meetings, in the mid-1900s, Wilhemena Smith rode as Bill Smith at north Queensland racecourses. She was nicknamed Bill Girlie Smith because she arrived on course with her riding gear on under her clothes and did not shower on course. It was only at the time of her death in 1975 that the racing world was officially told that Bill was really Wilhemena. Subsequent inquiries revealed that William Smith was actually a woman who had been born Wilhemena Smith in a Sydney hospital in 1886. In an era when women were clearly denied equality, she had become known as a successful jockey in Queensland country districts as 'Bill Smith'.

The modern era of female jockeys began as Kathy Kusner successfully sued the Maryland Racing Commission for a jockey's license in 1968 under the Civil Rights Act.  In late 1968, Penny Ann Early became the first licensed female thoroughbred jockey in the US, and entered three races at Churchill Downs  in November, but the male jockeys announced that they would boycott those races. On February 7, 1969, Diane Crump was the first female rider to ride in a Thoroughbred race in the United States at the Hialeah Park Race Track in Florida. She made history again, the next year, when she became the first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 15th aboard Fathom. Even though the male jockeys fought the presence of females in the irons, the barrier had been broken. Two weeks later on February 22 at Charles Town in West Virginia, Barbara Jo Rubin became the first woman to win a race and went on to win 11 of her first 22. Others soon followed suit and over the years American women jockeys have proven their ability. Julie Krone has the most winning races by an American woman. 

Jockeys must be light to ride at the weights which are assigned to their mounts. There are horse carrying weight limits, that are set by racing authorities. The Kentucky Derby, for example, has a weight limit of 126 lb (57 kg) including the jockey's equipment. The weight of a jockey usually ranges from 108 to 118 lb (49 to 54 kg). Despite their light weight, they must be able to control a horse that is moving at 40 mph (64 km/h) or more, and weighs 1,200 lbs (540 kg). Though there is no height restrictions for jockeys, they are usually fairly short due to the weight limits. Jockeys typically stand around 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) to 5 ft 6 in (1.6m).

For the most part Canada has generally followed the U.S.'s lead in the area of opportunities for female riders. Canada has far fewer tracks than the U.S. and has only two female jockeys with 1,000 wins. However, in both actual and relative numbers as well as overall success rate, Canada has far surpassed its southern neighbour in opportunities for women at the highest level; namely their respective Triple Crown series.

Starting with Joan Phipps in the Canadian 1973 Breeders' Stakes, 9 different women have competed in 27 Canadian Triple Crown races, 34 times with a combined 2 wins, 3 places, 3 shows. By comparison, since Diane Crump rode in the 1970 Kentucky Derby, only 6 different women have competed in 18 total U.S. Triple Crown events with a combined record of 1 win, 1 place, 1 shows. Moreover, while no US Triple Crown race has ever featured more than one female rider, that feat has occurred on 7 occasions in Canada. Most impressively, 3 different women - Francine Villeneuve, Chantal Sutherland and Emma-Jayne Wilson (twice over) - have each raced in all three of the Canadian Triple Crown races. Women Jockeys in Canada are supreme riders!

Hot-Walker, Life on the Fast Track (youtube) Book Trailer ... ebook coming soon .

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YORKVILLE, sets the scene in HOT-WALKER known as Toronto's counter-cultural mecca.

In the novel ... HOT-WALKER recalls the life and times of a young innocent woman, Frannie Harrison, who sets out to find her own life in the turbulent 1960s where anything goes. Ultimately, she ends up in an area of young people living in one of Toronto's oldest adjoining villages, YORKVILLE, founded in 1830 by entrepreneur Joseph Bloore. It began as a residential suburb. The village grew enough to be connected by an omnibus service in 1849 to Toronto.

 By 1853, the population of the village had reached 1,000. Development increased and by the 1870s more land was needed and Potter's Field, a cemetery stretching east of Yonge Street along the north side of Concession Road (today's Bloor Street) was closed, and the remains moved to the Necropolis and Mount Pleasant cemetery.

By the 1880s, the cost of delivering services to the large population of Yorkville was beyond the Village's ability. It petitioned the City of Toronto to be annexed. Annexation came on February 1, 1883, and Yorkville's name changed officially from "Village of Yorkville" to "St. Paul's Ward". The character of the suburb did not change and its Victorian-style homes, quiet residential streets, and picturesque gardens survived into the 20th century.

In 1923, the Toronto Hebrew Maternity and Convalescent Hospital was opened at 100 Yorkville Avenue and a year later the name was changed to Mount Sinai Hospital. The facade of this building still stands today.

Cheap rent in the Village.

And then ... some forty years later, Yorkville became known as  "a festering sore in the middle of the city" with a new generation of alternative lifestyles who changed the scene and the area became dominated with hippies and young people from all walks of life. 

HOT-WALKER takes place in the 1960s when Yorkville flourished as Toronto's counter-cultural mecca. The hip Village's development from its early coffee house days, when folksingers such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell flocked to the scene, to its tumultuous, drug-fueled final months. Yorkville was also a battleground over identity, territory, and power. This neighbourhood soon came to be regarded as an alternative space both as a geographic area and as a symbol of hip Toronto in the cultural imagination, as then underground literary figures, such as Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen and Dennis Lee appeared regularly in the area. 

Yorkville was also known as the Canadian capital of the hippie movement and by the late 1960s folk music had given way to folk-rock and then psychedelic rock and Yorkville was bustling with electric as well as acoustic performances. In total, there were as many as 40 clubs and coffeehouses offering live entertainment every night of the week, and music lovers could hop from venue to venue to catch a seemingly endless number of acts. In 1968, nearby Rochdale College at the University of Toronto was opened on Bloor Street as an experiment in counter-culture education. Those influenced by their time in 1960s-70s Yorkville, include cyberpunk writer William Gibson. The Victorian homes became seedy, contaminated, uncared for and turned into a dangerous location.

Transition into high-end shopping district

It was after the construction of the Bloor-Danforth subway when the value of land nearby increased as higher densities were allowed by the City's official plan. Along Bloor Street, office towers, the Bay department store and the Holt Renfrew department store displaced the local retail. As real estate values increased, the residential homes north of Bloor along Yorkville were converted into high-end retail, including many art galleries, fashion boutiques and antique stores, and popular bars, cafes and eateries along Cumberland Street and Yorkville Avenue. Many smaller buildings were demolished and office and hotels built in the 1970s, with high priced condominium developments being built. Today, the remains of the Victorian homes that line the side streets are owned by the wealthy and most have been renovated beyond recognition as it is now classified as one of the 'most expensive' retail districts in North America.

Racetrack history from 'Hot~Walker'. - Greenwood and Woodbine Racetracks

Hot~Walker begins its racetrack ventures in 1965 at Greenwood Racetrack, a horse racing facility in Toronto, inaugurated in 1874 as Woodbine Race Course at the foot of Woodbine Avenue and Lake Ontario. The novel tells the story of the murder trial of Francine Harrison's fiance, an American draft dodger, John Mencini who trained thoroughbreds. 

Racing has had a long history in the Toronto area. In the early 1880s, Duggan founded the Ontario Jockey Club (OJC). Thoroughbred racing continued at Old Woodbine on a shortened six furlong (1,207 m) track and Harness races were conducted on the thoroughbred track, but serious problems with mud (including the starting gate being immobilized) led to the construction of a five-furlong (1006 m) stone dust harness track inside the thoroughbred track. This track was known for its tight turns and long back and homestretches.

In the early 1950s, the Ontario Jockey Club, led by directors E. P. Taylor, George C. Hendrie and J. E. Frowde Seagram, undertook an acquisition and consolidation program for southern Ontario racing. By 1956, the OJC operated a new facility for Thoroughbred horse races, which was constructed in Toronto suburbs, and given the name  New Woodbine Racetrack. This was the location and setting for the racehorse, SnoMann, and his big win in 1969,

The Old Woodbine facility was completely renovated and renamed Greenwood Raceway in 1963. It held both harness racing and thoroughbred racing meets until its closure at the end of 1993. Steeplechase races were held at Woodbine/Greenwood for a few years. 

In 1994, the thoroughbred and harness operations were moved to Woodbine. The stadium was demolished and replaced by residential and commercial development, including a betting parlour. Half of the property became Woodbine Park. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging,thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day.

Hot-Walker, Life on the Fast Track Sports-crime thriller : Blue Bonnets Raceway

The action packed novel, Hot~Walker is filled with secrets of the racing world. 1960s was a time when women made a statement, even riding on the racetrack. The female jockey made a change in thoroughbred training.

The novel Hot~Walker is set in Ontario and Quebec racetracks. The Montreal historic Blue Bonnets racetrack began in 1872 and was located in Ville Saint-Pierre. The Jockey Club of Montreal wasn't founded until 1905 by John F. Ryan and then the new Blue Bonnets Raceway was moved to a new location on Decarie Blvd in June, 1907 where racing lasted for many years.

The president in 1920 was JKL Ross, owner of Sir Barton, the first thoroughbred to win the USA triple crown. In 1932 the racetrack was sold and in 1943, harness racing came to Blue Bonnets and it was in 1954 when flat racing thoroughbreds ended. 

In 1958, the racetrack was sold to JL Levesque who built a new multi-million dollar facility and brought back thoroughbred racing in 1961.Hot~Walker's years of racing took place during this time, and in 1965 Paul Desmarais, the CEO of Power Corporation of Canada took control for its remaining years. It all ended in 2009 and was later dismantled to make way for a housing project.

Canadian Horse Racing Novel

Hot~Walker Life on the Fast Track

Mallory Neeve Wilkins Novel
Hot-Walker Life on the Fast Track

This Canadian horse racing story was the original novel, SnoMann, that I wrote in the 1980s. The manuscript was gathering dust as it grew from the IBM typewriter to floppy disc to CD and finally reedited and pulled together some 30 years later ... feeling safe that the information was not as dangerous today as it once was ... back in the day.

We meet many individuals along our journey, some gifted while others are, well, different. We all have a story and in Hot~Walker, I released a lot of the struggles and hardships from my youth. It is quite remarkable how writing can save a life, encourage employment, tell a story, make people laugh and heal over time, make beautiful music and produce great screenplays. Yes, the script of letting-go can definitely bring enjoyment, and reading has to be one of the best pastimes to keep the brain sharp and functioning. Novels Available Online

Book Trailer for ... Hot Walker, Life on the Fast Track

WATCH the youtube Book Trailer for "Hot~Walker" Life on the Fast Track.  Enjoy the sports-crime thriller.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izWWQh8Odqk&feature=em-upload_owner-smbtn