Hall of Fame

William O'Donnell is one of a legion of horsemen who have come from the sparsely populated Maritime region of Canada to star in the sport. The Springhill, Nova Scotia native has won over 5250 races and $88 million in purses. He dominated the money-won list from 1981 to 1988, winning four titles and finishing second to fellow "Gold Dust Twin" John Campbell in four other years. In 1985, O'Donnell became the sport's first "Ten Million Dollar Man," earning $10,207,372 in purses. Named Driver of the Year in '82 and '84, O'Donnell holds the distinction of winning the first sub-1:50 race mile - a 1:49.3 effort with Nihilator in 1984. Other horses he has piloted to great wins include Napoletano, Camtastic, Prakas and Valley Victory.

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Following his enshrinement into the Hall of Fame in 1990, O’Donnell continued driving horses until his retirement in 2017. O’Donnell retired with 5,574 wins and purse earnings of $98,171,584.

Among his major driving wins were 13 Breeders Crowns, 2 Little Brown Jugs (Nihilator in 1985 and Barberry Spur in 1986) and a Hambletonian win with Prakas in 1985. In 1993 O’Donnell drove the fastest pacer ever to date, time-trialing Cambest in a time of 1:46.1.

Other equine stars O’Donnell had the good fortune to drive included Artsplace, (P,4, 1:49.2M  $3,085,083), Staying Together (P,4, 1:48.2M  $1,692,832), Delinquent Account, (P, 5, 1:51.4M  $1,038,997) Fancy Crown (T,3, 1:53.4M $911,965) and Troublemaker (P,2, T1:54.0M  $1,112,103).

"Billy O" continues his involvement in harness racing on the board of the Central Ontario Standardbred Association, representing the horsemen at Woodbine Mohawk Park.