Merv Peters, British Columbia racing official and executive, dies at 91

Merv Peters, a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, died on Tuesday after a long illness at 91.

Peters’s association with horse racing began in 1952, when he took over the Thoroughbred beat for the Vancouver Sun, where he had started as a copy boy four years earlier. He was promoted to sports editor in 1958 while continuing to cover racing at Hastings Park and Lansdowne. He also hosted the first live television shows of horse racing in the province. In 1961, he became an associate steward with the newly formed B.C. Jockey Club.

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Peters would become the presiding steward and director of racing for the BCJC and played a key role in the growth of the mutuel handle and the increase of purses. In 1975, he became general manager of Hastings. Some of the major changes that Peters helped lead were rebuilding the track and grandstand and later installing a grandstand extension, installing lights to facilitate night racing in 1968, pioneering sweep six wagering in 1982, and getting the provincial government to reduce the pari-mutuel tax in 1971.

Peters left the track following the 1994 season when the Pacific Racing Association, a provincial government body, took over the Hastings operation.

In 1965, Peters was one of the founding members of the National Association of Canadian Racetracks (now Racetracks Canada). In 1970 he was named president, and in 1982 served a second term.

Peters was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame as a builder in 1993.

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