Late veterinarian Johnston to be honored at Dresden
July 5, 2018,by Gary Patterson, for Dresden Raceway
Dresden, ON — Veterinarian Joe Johnston will be honored Sunday (July 8) at Dresden Raceway and posthumously enshrined to the Dresden Raceway Hall of Fame.
The Dresden, Ont. native is remembered as a top-notch veterinarian, trainer, owner and all-around great guy.
Sunday will feature the A Worthy Lad Trot and the Dr. Joe Johnston Memorial Race to honor Johnston and his greatest success at the track.
Johnston died suddenly in January 2016 at age 70, but left behind a large legacy. The top-notch vet made national headlines as the owner of A Worthy Lad. Johnston’s Hall of Fame trotter was enshrined into the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame thanks to going undefeated in 30 straight races, topping Cam Fella’s mark of 28. As a matter of fact, the Worthy Bowl offspring never lost a race on Canadian soil.
Johnston made the tough decision to sell the trotting phenom to Swedish horseman Bengt Petterson for C$1.5 million, the highest amount ever paid for a Canadian-bred Standardbred horse at the time.
A favorite among horsepeople because of his easy going style and his friendly attitude, Johnston had a passion for his job that showed right from the start. The Lambton-Kent Composite School (Dresden, Ont.) valedictorian graduated from the University of Guelph as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and received several awards, including the OVC Proficiency Award, the W.J. Fowler Prize and the W.G. Stephenson Memorial Scholarship.
One of the most telling awards that Johnston received was the 2002 Good Guy Award given by Windsor Raceway for all the good he did behind the scenes at the border oval.
With all the accolades and success, he always referred to himself as “just and average Joe”, which accented his humility.
Johnston’s family will be in attendance, as well as many friends and fans. Post time for Sunday is 1:30 p.m.