Macdonald "Mac" Benson (born June 30, 1930, in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

) is a

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing, harness and Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine ...

trainer. A resident of

Woodbridge, Ontario Woodbridge is a very large suburban community in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, along the city's border with Toronto. It occupies the city's entire southwest quadrant, west of Ontario Highway 400, Highway 400, east of Ontario Highway 50, Highway 50, n ...

, Benson came to Canada in 1978 to train for E. P. Taylor's renowned

Windfields Farm Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred Stud farm, horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Origin The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor o ...

. Since then, horses trained by Benson have won ten

Sovereign Award {{refimprove, date=October 2021 The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing. The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Y ...

s and four Canadian Classics. Mac Benson embarked on his professional training career in 1958 and began by working for prominent Delaware

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

owner, William du Pont, Jr. He later would operate a public stable, racing at tracks in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Among his clients in the early 1970s was another duPont family member, Bayard Sharp, who was a founding director of

Delaware Park Racetrack Delaware Park (also known as ''DelPark'') is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track, casino, and golf course in Stanton, Delaware. It is located just outside the city of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington, and about 30 miles from Philadelphia ...

and a former president of '' The Blood-Horse Inc.'' magazine. In 1976, Benson was offered a job by the head of operations for Windfields Farm who raced in Canada and the United States, and who maintained breeding operations in Maryland and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Settling in the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

area in 1978, Mac Benson met with instant success as head trainer of the E. P. Taylor racing stable. He remained with Windfields Farm through the death of E. P. Taylor in 1989 and would later train for American

George W. Strawbridge, Jr. George W. Strawbridge Jr. (born October 10, 1937) is an American educator, historian, investor, sportsman and philanthropist. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Margaret ("Peggy") Dorrance and the stockbroker George ...

and Robert J. Costigan of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. Still active in 2009, at age 76 Mac Benson trained Costigan's

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

Arravale {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Arravale , image = , caption = , sire = Arch , grandsire = Kris S. , dam = Kalosca , damsire = Kaldoun , sex = Filly , foaled = 2003 , country = United States , colour = Dark Bay , breeder = Bruce ...

, to 2006

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

honors. In 2002, Mac Benson was inducted in the

References

Macdonald Benson at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Macdonald Benson profile at Woodbine Entertainment

Macdonald Benson at the NTRA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Macdonald 1930 births Living people American racehorse trainers Sportspeople from Wilmington, Delaware Canadian racehorse trainers Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Vaughan