Hall of Fame Inductee, 2023

Standardbred Driver

One horse can change the course of a trainer or driver’s career and for driver Chris Christoforou, of Campbellville, Ontario, that horse was a trotting stallion named Earl.  Bred, owned, and trained by his father, Charalambos, Earl and Christoforou teamed up for 35 victories and over $984,000 in earnings in 1992 and 1993.   That early success on the racetrack for the young driver was a major turning point for Christoforou who became one of Canada’s leading catch drivers for almost three decades.

Christoforou started driving horses in 1990, scoring his first win at Flamboro Downs with Delias Star.

In 1993, the 21-year-old reinsman saw his breakout season capturing 115 wins and over $1,367,000 in earnings. The highlight of that season was a victory in the prestigious Breeders Crown Championship with Earl, and Christoforou became the second youngest driver to win a Breeders Crown.

Over the years, Christoforou was fortunate to have the horsepower of his father’s stable behind him and drove for many of the Woodbine Entertainment circuit’s top trainers.  In addition to Earl, pacing colt Astreos and trotting filly, Earl Of My Dreams, were two-million-dollar performers that benefitted from Christoforou’s prowess in the race bike. Astreos and Christoforou teamed up for a memorable victory in the 2000 Little Brown Jug Race-Off, and he was the regular driver for Earl Of My Dreams, a standout in the Ontario Sires Stakes at ages two and three.

Other horses Christoforou achieved major stakes success included:

Grinfromeartoear (1999 Breeders Crown), Allamerican Nadia (2002 Breeders Crown) and CHRHF Member Peaceful Way (2003 Goldsmith Maid and 2003 Oakville Stakes).

His stakes victories include most of Ontario’s signature events – multiple Canadian Breeders Championships, the Fan Hanover, Oakville, Burlington, as well as the Champlain Stakes (both pace and trot) and ten Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final events.

His accolades include several driving titles at Woodbine and Mohawk Park, and four coveted O’Brien Awards as Canada’s Driver of the Year.

In 1999, in only his tenth season of driving, Christoforou took home his first O’Brien trophy as Canada’s Driver of the Year following a phenomenal season that included 643 victories and a then-record $6.6 million in purses. In 2002, he drove 517 winners and horses to more than $10.8 million in purses to secure his second O’Brien trophy, and captured his third in 2003, the year he set a personal best in earnings, driving the winners of over $11.9 million.

In 2014, Christoforou put together a brilliant year on the racetrack.  He hit the 6,000-win plateau, surpassed $100 million in career earnings, won 242 races and eclipsed $5.3 million in purse earnings, which earned him a fourth O’Brien bronze for his trophy case as Canada’s Driver of the Year.

During his Hall of Fame career, Chris Christoforou has driven 6,765 winners and horses to earnings of more than $119 million….and he’s not done yet!

Statistics are as of June 17, 2023.