Veteran trainer Lionel Joseph and his three sons (Kwame is seen riding in the background) are back in Osoyoos to train a large stable of horses at the Desert Park racetrack and training facility to get ready for the race season at Northlands Racetrack in Edmonton. Joseph’s passion from horses began as a child in his native Antigua. (Keith Lacey photo)
Lionel Joseph’s lifelong passion for horses – and horse racing – has resulted in him travelling around the world and landing here in Osoyoos for the second consecutive winter and spring.
Born and raised in the gorgeous Caribbean island of Antigua, Joseph’s passion for horses was formed at a very young age and he has pursued his passion for his entire adult life.
That passion has been passed on to his three sons – Kwame, 19, Jimmy, 26, and Ray, 30 –who all train horses professionally for a living.
Kwame is also one of the top young jockeys in Canada and his ability as a jockey is the reason his dad and brothers now work out of the Northlands racetrack facility in Edmonton for the past couple of years.
Lionel and his sons brought 14 horses to the Desert Park racetrack and training facility in February with two more horses on their way.
They will spend the next 10 or so weeks at Desert Park getting their horses ready for the racing season at Northlands.
This is the second winter in succession that Joseph and his sons have come to Desert Park with a large stable of horses to train them for the race season in Alberta.
Joseph said his passion for horses started at a very young age and has never dwindled.
“As a young boy growing up in Antigua, I would stop at the local racetrack on my way home from school just to look at the horses,” he said. “I love them as animals and then I watched them race and I was hooked … and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Joseph worked in the horse racing industry in Antigua for more than 20 years as a trainer, before making the move to the United States, where he worked and lived in The Bronx in New York City.
He continued to work as a trainer in America’s largest city for more than six years, before making the move to Toronto to work at Woodbine racetrack for a couple of years.
His reputation as a talented trainer and Kwame’s talents as a jockey ended up in the family moving to Edmonton last year.
“Kwame had a really good offer to race at Northlands, so me and my other boys decided to follow him there,” he said.
His first year as a trainer at Northlands went extremely well, said Joseph.
“I trained horses for 39 races and we ended up with nine winners, a bunch of seconds and a few thirds,” he said. “You can make a pretty decent living with those kind of results and we’re hoping to do even better when we go back to Edmonton for the new season in early May.”
After a long 17-hour drive from Edmonton early last week, Joseph said he was surprised by the amount of snow and cold weather that has blanketed Osoyoos this winter.
Last year at this time, there was no snow and warm weather had already started, which made for perfect conditions at Desert Park, he said.
Because of the unusually cold winter weather, the track at Desert Park remains frozen and it’s going to be at least two or three more weeks before his horses can get on the track for daily workouts, he said.
But the good news is the winter weather in Osoyoos is still much nicer than the bitter cold that has engulfed Alberta and much of Canada and his horses will get in the training they need to fully prepare for the race season over the next 10 to 12 weeks, he said.
“Even though it’s still a little cold, the horses don’t have to inhale the bitter cold we get in Alberta,” he said. “The nice weather will be coming very soon and we have all kinds of time to get them ready by the end of April.”
Desert Park has a “very good reputation” with trainers and owners in Alberta and that’s why he decided to bring his horses here last year for the first time, he said.
“Everyone at Northlands knows all about Osoyoos and Desert Park,” he said. “It’s a great place for spring training because it’s just too cold in Alberta.
“Me and my family really enjoyed ourselves last year and we knew right away we would be coming back.”
He and his sons stayed in a local hotel last year, but are being put up by good friends near Osoyoos for their entire stay this time around, he said.
After spending the past four years in Canada, Joseph said he and his three sons, his wife and one daughter have all applied to become Canadian citizens.
“This is where we want to be,” he said. “Canada is a wonderful country.”
The fact you can make a decent living working in the horse racing industry is a huge bonus, he said.
“Like any sport, you have to win,” he said. “When you train horses that get wins, you get more owners interested in hiring you and then you make more money.”
Joseph said he would love to return to Osoyoos in the summer months to enjoy the gorgeous weather and promised he would bring a stable of horses if the Desert Park Exhibition Society organizes race dates this coming summer.
As for the future, Lionel said he and his sons will continue to return to Osoyoos and Desert Park for spring training for many years to come.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
