{{Short description|Canadian racehorse trainer}} {{Infobox horseracing personality |name = Gordon J. McCann |image = |caption = |occupation = [[Jockey]] / [[Horse trainer|Trainer]] |birth_place = [[East York]], Ontario, Canada |birth_date = February 18, 1908 |death_date = January 18, 2000 (aged 91) |career wins = Not found |race = [[Canadian International Stakes]]<br>(1941, 1951, 1953)<br>[[Autumn Stakes (Canada)|Autumn Stakes]] (1949)<br>[[Coronation Futurity Stakes]]<br>(1950, 1952, 1956, 1968)<br>[[Cup and Saucer Stakes]] (1952, 1958, 1968)<br>[[Plate Trial Stakes]]<br>(1952 (2x), 1953, 1954 (2x), 1957 (2x), 1960, 1963)<br>[[My Dear Stakes]] (1953 (2x), 1960)<br>[[Toronto Cup Stakes|Toronto Cup]] (1953, 1954, 1956)<br>[[Achievement Stakes]] (1954, 1957, 1961)<br>[[Maple Leaf Stakes]] (1954, 1958)<br>[[Jacques Cartier Stakes]] (1955, 1957, 1958)<br>[[Clarendon Stakes]] (1956, 1958)<br>[[Northern Dancer Breeders' Cup Turf|Niagara Handicap]] (1956, 1959)<br>[[Saratoga Special Stakes]] (1956)<br>[[Seaway Stakes]] (1956, 1958)<br>[[Victoria Stakes]] (1956, 1958)<br>[[Woodbine Oaks]] (1957, 1960, 1970)<br>[[Nassau Stakes (Canada)|Nassau Stakes]] (1958)<br>[[Star Shoot Stakes]]<br>(1958, 1960, 1961, 1966, 1969)<br>[[Seagram Cup Stakes|Seagram Cup]] (1959)<br>[[E. P. Taylor Stakes|Nettie Handicap]] (1961)

'''[[Canadian Classic Races|Canadian Classic Race]] wins:'''<br>[[Queen's Plate]]<br>(1940, 1951, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1963)<br>[[Prince of Wales Stakes]]<br>(1951, 1952, 1954, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1967)<br>[[Breeders' Stakes]]<br>(1954, 1959, 1961, 1963) |awards = [[Oriental Park Racetrack|Oriental Park Racetrack Champion Jockey]] (1926) |honours = [[Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]] (1979) |horses = [[Willie the Kid]], [[Bunty Lawless]], [[Queen's Own (horse)|Queen's Own]]<br>[[Bull Page]], [[Nearctic (horse)|Nearctic]], [[New Providence (horse)|New Providence]]<br>[[Canebora]], [[Major Factor]], [[Lyford Cay (horse)|Lyford Cay]]<br>[[Canadiana (horse)|Canadiana]], [[Victoria Park (horse)|Victoria Park]], [[Viceregal (horse)|Viceregal]], [[Vice Regent]] |updated = }} '''Gordon J. "Pete" McCann''' (1908 &ndash; January 18, 2000) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse trainer]]. He was born in [[East York]], now part of the city of [[Toronto]]. Known to his family as Gordon, in racing circles he was nicknamed Pete.

Pete McCann began his career as a [[jockey]]. He raced at [[Oriental Park Racetrack]] in [[Havana]], [[Cuba]] where he was a leading jockey in 1926. He rode with success in Toronto then in 1940 took out his trainer's license and won his first [[King's Plate]] that same year with [[Willie the Kid]].

McCann was hired by [[E. P. Taylor]] as head trainer at [[Windfields Farm]] in 1950 where he would spend the next twenty-one years. During his training career, McCann conditioned seven [[Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame|Canadian Hall of Fame]] horses and six horses that won [[Canadian Horse of the Year]] honours including [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing#Canada|Canadian Triple Crown]] winners [[New Providence (horse)|New Providence]] in 1959 and [[Canebora]] in 1963. He also trained six winners of Canada's most prestigious race, the [[Queen's Plate]] and overall won seventeen races that now comprise the [[Canadian Classic Races|Canadian Classics]]. He also is tied for having trained the most winners with three in the [[Canadian International Stakes]].

In 1971, McCann retired from training after Taylor divided the stable into Canadian and United States divisions under separate head trainers. Quickly bored, he returned to racing with a small stable of his own.

McCann was inducted into the [[Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]] in 1979. He died of [[pneumonia]] at age 91.

==References== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725061954/http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/trainers/1980/Gordon_J_Pete_McCann.html Gordon J. McCann at the Canadian Horse Racing and Hall of Fame] * [http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2000/January/20/Top-trainer-McCann-dead.aspx January 20, 2000 ''Thoroughbred Times.com'' article titled ''Top trainer McCann dead''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610224527/http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2000/january/20/top-trainer-mccann-dead.aspx |date=June 10, 2011 }} * [http://www.windfields.com/history.php Windfields Farm online]

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCann, Gordon J.}} [[Category:Canadian horse trainers]] [[Category:Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Toronto]] [[Category:People from East York, Toronto]] [[Category:1908 births]] [[Category:2000 deaths]]