Richard A. N. Bonnycastle
Encyclopedia
Richard Arthur Northwood Bonnycastle (born September 26, 1934 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian businessman who is the former owner and publisher of Harlequin Enterprises and an owner of Thoroughbred
racehorses. Widely known as "Dick," he is part of the prominent Bonnycastle family
founded in Canada by British soldier, Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle.
Dick Bonnycastle graduated from the University of Manitoba
in 1956 and eventually joined Harlequin Enterprises, a romance novel publishing business founded in 1949 by his father, Richard H. G. Bonnycastle
. On the death of his father in 1968, Dick Bonnycastle assumed management of Harlequin and would serve as its Chairman until 1981. Within a few years of taking over from his father, he moved the company's operations to Toronto
, Ontario
where he would build it into a major international force in the book publishing industry. By 1971, Dick Bonnycastle had orchestrated the buyout of British publisher Mills & Boon
and had contracted with Pocket Books
and Simon and Schuster to distribute the Mills & Boon novels in the United States
. In addition, he oversaw expansion to Australia
in 1974, The Netherlands in 1975, set up a joint venture in 1976 in West Germany
and in 1977 established a subsidiary in France
. Dick Bonnycastle saw his company grow to where it would command eighty percent of the romance fiction market in North America. In late 1975, Toronto Star Ltd.
purchased a 52.5 percent interest in Harlequin Enterprises and in 1981 acquired the balance of the company's shares. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Harlequin-Enterprises-Limited-Company-History.html
Dick Bonnycastle is currently Chairman and President of his private investment company, Cavendish Investing Ltd. http://www.networkcapital.com/index.php?pg=our_team Outside of the publishing world, in the 1980s Bonnycastle was one of the original Limited Partners of the first Oak Capital Partners, a venture capital
company that provided the initial backing for Compaq Computer Corporation
. http://www.racenewsonline.co.uk/newslink/archive/501/290501.htm He has served as Chairman of Bracknell Corporation (1983-90), Rupertsland Resources Ltd. (1975-83) and was a member of the Board of Directors
of Western Feedlots Ltd. from 1970 to 1978 and of Torstar
from 1975 to 1982.
A supporter of various causes related to nature and the environment, Bonnycastle is a Trustee of the Fort Whyte Center for Environmental Education in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has served as Chairman of the Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, an international affiliate of Ducks Unlimited
on whose Board his father had been a member, and in 1963 was one of the founders of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. http://www.networkcapital.com/index.php?pg=our_team
horse racing
in the early 1970s. In 1973 he was one of the founding members of the Board of Stewards of the Jockey Club of Canada
http://www.jockeyclubcanada.com/history.html and has served as its Chairman since 2005. http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:u6Oxa21izGQJ:www.jockeyclubcanada.com/PDF/JCC_Sov07WEB.pdf+Ontario+Jockey+Club,+chairman,+Bonnycastle&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca
Bonnycastle and a cousin own a 20000 acres (80.9 km²) ranch in Empress, Alberta
. Racing under the name Harlequin Ranches at racetracks across Canada as well as in the United States, he has also campaigned horses in Europe. In the 1970's, one of his best runners in Canada was a multiple stakes-winning son of the great Northern Dancer
named Nice Dancer
. In 1978 Bonnycastle won the Classic 1,000 Guineas Stakes with Enstone Spark
. In recent years, he was a partner in Mr Combustible who won the 2001 Chester Vase
and Geoffrey Freer Stakes
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/3005020/Mr-Combustible-burns-off-rivals.html and in Canada, his filly
, Gold Strike
, was voted the 2005 Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
. Bonnycastle is a partner in Yankee Bravo who won the 2008 California Derby
.
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses. Widely known as "Dick," he is part of the prominent Bonnycastle family
Bonnycastle family
The Bonnycastle family of Canada:* Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle , British soldier* Henry William John Bonnycastle , lawyer, militiaman, farmer, councillor, artist* Angus L. Bonnycastle , lawyer, politician, judge...
founded in Canada by British soldier, Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle.
Dick Bonnycastle graduated from the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
in 1956 and eventually joined Harlequin Enterprises, a romance novel publishing business founded in 1949 by his father, Richard H. G. Bonnycastle
Richard H. G. Bonnycastle
Richard Henry Gardyn Bonnycastle was a Canadian lawyer, fur trader, adventurer, and a businessman who helped found and then owned the romance novel publishing company, Harlequin Enterprises....
. On the death of his father in 1968, Dick Bonnycastle assumed management of Harlequin and would serve as its Chairman until 1981. Within a few years of taking over from his father, he moved the company's operations to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
where he would build it into a major international force in the book publishing industry. By 1971, Dick Bonnycastle had orchestrated the buyout of British publisher Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon is a British publisher of romance novels. It was founded in 1908, and was independent until its purchase in 1971 by Harlequin Enterprises with whom the company had had a long informal partnership...
and had contracted with Pocket Books
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
and Simon and Schuster to distribute the Mills & Boon novels in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In addition, he oversaw expansion to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1974, The Netherlands in 1975, set up a joint venture in 1976 in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and in 1977 established a subsidiary in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Dick Bonnycastle saw his company grow to where it would command eighty percent of the romance fiction market in North America. In late 1975, Toronto Star Ltd.
Torstar
Torstar Corporation is an independently-owned Canadian broadly based media company that is named after its principal holding, the Toronto Star daily newspaper....
purchased a 52.5 percent interest in Harlequin Enterprises and in 1981 acquired the balance of the company's shares. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Harlequin-Enterprises-Limited-Company-History.html
Dick Bonnycastle is currently Chairman and President of his private investment company, Cavendish Investing Ltd. http://www.networkcapital.com/index.php?pg=our_team Outside of the publishing world, in the 1980s Bonnycastle was one of the original Limited Partners of the first Oak Capital Partners, a venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
company that provided the initial backing for Compaq Computer Corporation
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
. http://www.racenewsonline.co.uk/newslink/archive/501/290501.htm He has served as Chairman of Bracknell Corporation (1983-90), Rupertsland Resources Ltd. (1975-83) and was a member of the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of Western Feedlots Ltd. from 1970 to 1978 and of Torstar
Torstar
Torstar Corporation is an independently-owned Canadian broadly based media company that is named after its principal holding, the Toronto Star daily newspaper....
from 1975 to 1982.
A supporter of various causes related to nature and the environment, Bonnycastle is a Trustee of the Fort Whyte Center for Environmental Education in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has served as Chairman of the Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, an international affiliate of Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It currently has approximately 780,000 members, mostly in the United States and Canada.-Introduction:Ducks Unlimited was...
on whose Board his father had been a member, and in 1963 was one of the founders of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. http://www.networkcapital.com/index.php?pg=our_team
Harlequin Ranches
Dick Bonnycastle's great-great-great grandfather, Darcy Bolton, was Canada's first racing steward. Bonnycastle became involved with the sport of ThoroughbredThoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
in the early 1970s. In 1973 he was one of the founding members of the Board of Stewards of the Jockey Club of Canada
Jockey Club of Canada
The Jockey Club of Canada was formed in 1973 to oversee thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the club is responsible for the annual Sovereign Awards program and the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee.Founding members:...
http://www.jockeyclubcanada.com/history.html and has served as its Chairman since 2005. http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:u6Oxa21izGQJ:www.jockeyclubcanada.com/PDF/JCC_Sov07WEB.pdf+Ontario+Jockey+Club,+chairman,+Bonnycastle&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca
Bonnycastle and a cousin own a 20000 acres (80.9 km²) ranch in Empress, Alberta
Empress, Alberta
- See also :*List of communities in Alberta*List of villages in Alberta*Monarchy in Alberta- References :...
. Racing under the name Harlequin Ranches at racetracks across Canada as well as in the United States, he has also campaigned horses in Europe. In the 1970's, one of his best runners in Canada was a multiple stakes-winning son of the great Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
named Nice Dancer
Nice Dancer
Nice Dancer was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse. He was from the last Canadian-sired crop of Northern Dancer before the International champion sire was relocated to Windfields Farm American subsidiary in Maryland....
. In 1978 Bonnycastle won the Classic 1,000 Guineas Stakes with Enstone Spark
Enstone Spark
Enstone Spark is a Thoroughbred fillyracehorse best known for winning a British Classic Race.Trained by Barry Hills, at age two, Enstone Spark won the 1977 Lowther Stakes at York Racecourse...
. In recent years, he was a partner in Mr Combustible who won the 2001 Chester Vase
Chester Vase
The Chester Vase is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Chester over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 66 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in May....
and Geoffrey Freer Stakes
Geoffrey Freer Stakes
The Geoffrey Freer Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of 1 mile, 5 furlongs and 61 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:The event was established in 1949, and it...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/3005020/Mr-Combustible-burns-off-rivals.html and in Canada, his filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
, Gold Strike
Gold Strike (horse)
Gold Strike is a Canadian Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred and raced by Dick Bonnycastle's Harlequin Ranches, she was out of the mare, Brassy Gold...
, was voted the 2005 Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
Sovereign Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly
The Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 3-Year-Old Filly Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.-References:*...
. Bonnycastle is a partner in Yankee Bravo who won the 2008 California Derby
California Derby
The California Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held early in the year at Golden Gate Fields. An ungraded stakes, it's open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt...
.