Ontario trainer Laurie Silvera dies at 89

Respected Ontario trainer Laurie Silvera, who conditioned Canadian champion Free At Last, died Monday at age 89 in the Milton District Hospital west of Toronto.

Silvera was born on July 7, 1930, in Jamaica, where he began his training career before moving to Canada with his family in 1974. He was the leading or co-leading trainer at the Greenwood spring meet three straight years, from 1988-1990. In 1991, he posted a career-best 43 wins and campaigned the Sovereign Award-winning 2-year-old, Free At Last, who captured the Grade 3 Summer Stakes before joining trainer D. Wayne Lukas’s string following a sale.

Other stakes winners trained by Silvera include Ariana D, Tusayan, Stormthebarricade, Madam Du Barri, Marvellous Silver, Right Regal, Courtly Candor, Parisinthespring, Try in the Sky, Hawk in Flight, and November Snow. His charges won more than 1,000 races and nearly $26 million in purses in North America.

"A true gentleman, Laurie was a longtime fixture on the Woodbine backstretch and highly respected among the local racing community for his horsemanship and willingness to help others,” said Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson. “Racing fans will remember Laurie for his prowess in training horses at Woodbine for decades, and the early season success he often achieved.”

Visitation for Silvera will be at the Glen Oaks Funeral Home in Oakville, Ontario, from 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. on Monday. The funeral service will be there from 11 a.m. to noon Tuesday, which will be followed by a reception there from noon to 2 p.m.