Horse racing has no shortage of dynasties. From the glory years of Calumet Farm to multi-generational families of trainers and riders, the sport’s history can be told through the continuity of certain names in the list of winners of our great races. Unique amongst these is the Turcotte family of Canadian jockeys.

Ron Turcotte may be the most famous of the brothers who took up life in the saddle, his connection to Secretariat an indelible part of that horse’s time on the racetrack, but four other Turcottes joined their brother, each forging his own path through the sport. A new book by Sovereign Award-winning turf writer Curtis Stock shares the tragedies and triumphs of this extraordinary family, one which deserves a spot in any racing fan’s library.

Sharing the Improbable

Though the name Ron Turcotte is familiar to many fans in both the United States and Canada, “the story about the five brothers is an unknown piece of Canadian history to most,” according to Stock. As first a turf publicist and then a long-time journalist for the Edmonton Journal, he interviewed four of the five brothers over his years covering the sport, so he had intimate knowledge of the ups and downs each experienced during their careers.

Author Curtis Stock and Ron Turcotte (Barb Wilkinson photo)

However, the life of a full-time journalist does not always allow time for a big project like a book, so, when the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, Stock found he had a chance to tackle the task of writing about this extraordinary family.

“The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty” begins with the Turcotte family’s humble beginnings in tiny Drummond, New Brunswick. Alfred and Marie-Rose raised 14 children, including Ron, Noel, Rudy, Roger, and Yves, in the working-class village where agriculture and logging were the main sources of employment. Ron left school at age 14 to work alongside his father as a lumberjack, but the backbreaking work took its toll on his father. Knowing his family needed help, Ron went to Toronto in search of construction work, but found employment hard to come by until he caught the 1960 Kentucky Derby on his landlord’s television. That one moment captured Ron’s imagination.

He sought work at Woodbine Racetrack the next day, and within a few years, he was riding horses like Northern Dancer and leading the Canadian jockey standings. Within a decade, Noel, Rudy, Roger, and Yves followed him into life in the saddle, each handling the successes and challenges in vastly different ways. Stock’s book chronicles their journeys from their childhood in Drummond through their time in racing.

For fans of Secretariat, “The Turcottes” expands Ron’s background and gives unique insight into his connection with the ninth Triple Crown winner. For those who love the sport, the book shares even more insight into the demands of being a jockey. Stock expands on the struggle to maintain weight and the dangers of riding Thoroughbreds at top speed. “Many jockeys suffer from mental health issues,” he observes. “The mental anguish caused by constantly having to maintain a very low riding weight is pernicious. One day, you are at the top, and the next day, nobody knows your name.”

Stock’s examination of the five brothers’ careers captures those ups and downs in unflinching detail and shares the behind-the-scenes details that is a hallmark of his career as a journalist.

Crafting a History

Starting with the fire that devastates the family home, the book recounts each Turcotte brother’s journey from novice to apprentice to journeyman. Throughout, Stock shares conversations between the family and others that gives readers insight into the personal side of the five Turcottes’ respective lives as jockeys.

Noel, Rudy, and Roger in Calgary in 1980 at Turcotte Day.

To access their words, Stock relied on extensive research from sources like the Keeneland Library in Lexington, Ky. and his own work for the Edmonton Journal as well as one-on-one interviews with Ron, Rudy, and Yves. The result is a book that is “part biography, part oral history, and part creative nonfiction,” Stock describes.

How does the author explain the success of not one but five members of the same family?

“Luck and natural ability. Ron worked with the horses in lumber camps but had never seen a Thoroughbred nor had he even sat on a saddle,” he shared. “Born with an innate affinity for horses, Ron was simply a natural. When he excelled, Noel was enticed to be a jockey as well. Then came Rudy, Roger, and Yves. Ron helped them get started, too. They were all natural athletes.”

That talent translated to winning on the racetrack. Together, the five won 8,251 races and total purses of just under $60 million. Ron became Canada’s leading rider in 1962, just two years after he saw that Derby on his landlord’s television. Noel was one of Canada’s top jockeys as well and Roger became North America’s leading apprentice in 1975. Yves too made his name as one of Alberta’s top jockeys. Yet with all that success came tremendous challenges, which Stock explores. Ron Turcotte became a paraplegic after a spill at Belmont Park in 1978. Two of the brothers fought losing battles with their mental health and one with alcoholism. All suffered through the physical demands of riding.

That is what “The Turcottes” captures. For Stock, it is the realization of a life’s ambition to write a book after a journalism career that earned him a spot in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. For the Turcottes themselves, it chronicles the improbable story of five brothers from a rural New Brunswick village creating a dynasty in the saddle, forever linking the family name with success at the sport’s highest levels.

As the final line of Stock’s prologue says, “it couldn’t happen. But it did.”