Robert James "Jim" Speers (September 3, 1882 - July 19, 1955) was a Canadian businessman and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...

 inductee who made a major contribution to the growth of Thoroughbred

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...

 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 Western Canada

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

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Born in Elmbank, Ontario, James Speers moved to Winnipeg in 1900. In 1920 he headed a partnership that leased and operated the River Park race track. Two years later he built Whittier Park Racetrack in St. Boniface, Manitoba and then in 1923, the Polo Park Racetrack

Polo Park Racetrack

The Polo Park Racetrack was a Canadian horse racing facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Considered one of the finest racetracks in Western Canada, it was built by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee R. James Speers. The six furlong track opened in 1925 under the charter of the Winnipeg Jockey...

 in Winnipeg and Chinook Park in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

Whittier Park Stock Farm

In 1925, James Speers founded the Prairie Thoroughbred Breeders' Association and began breeding Thoroughbreds that would earn him six consecutive Canadian Breeder of the Year Awards between 1946 and 1951. His Whittier Park Stock Farm not only won races at his own track but at the hub of Canadian racing in 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...

 where his colt Lord Fairmond notably won a division of the 1948 Plate Trial Stakes

Plate Trial Stakes

The Plate Trial Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred flat horserace for three-Year-Olds, foaled in Canada run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario...

 and the Prince of Wales Stakes

Prince of Wales Stakes

The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of a mile and three sixteenths . In 1959, the Prince of Wales Stakes became the...

. Speers stud

Stud (animal)

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...

 bred Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....

 Youville as well as Loyalist, the winner of the 1955 Canadian Derby

Canadian Derby

The Canadian Derby is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alberta. A Grade III event held near the end of August, it is open to thee-year-old horses and is raced on dirt over a distance of one and three-eights miles...

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James Speers was inducted in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...

 in 1966, was part of the 1976 inaugural class of inductees in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, and was inducted in the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, dedicated to the history of sport in Manitoba and honouring the best in sport. The organization began in 1980 and in 1993, a museum was opened in The Forks...

 in 1983.

Following the devastation of the 1950 Red River Flood, James Speers donated the entire profits from his 1950 racing meetings to the Flood Relief Fund.

James Speers died of a heart attack at age 72 in 1955 and was buried in Winnipeg's Elmwood Cemetery.