Prominent North American Thoroughbred owner/breeder Eugene Melnyk died March 28, according to his family and an announcement from the Ottawa Senators National Hockey League team that he owned. The family's statement said he faced an illness "with determination and courage."
Melnyk was a businessman, sports franchise owner, philanthropist, and successful owner/breeder of elite racehorses for more than 20 years in the U.S. and Canada. He was the son of Vera and the late Dr. Ferdinand Melnyk, a caring brother to Lydia, a loving companion to Sharilyne, and a devoted father to his daughters, Anna and Olivia.
He was born May 27, 1959, to parents from Ukraine. His motto was "carpe diem," a seize-the-day adage his family said he enthusiastically embraced throughout his life. A passionate hockey fan, Melnyk was the owner, governor, and chairman of the Ottawa Senators, the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League, and previously the Toronto St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League. He was founder and former chairman of Biovail Corp., once the largest pharmaceutical company in Canada. More recently, he was chairman and chief executive of Neurolign, a fledgling medical device company, and chairman of Clean Beauty Collective, a boutique company that produces ethically sourced products. He was also an Honorary Colonel of the Canadian Armed Forces and a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
Since 1997, Melnyk campaigned 59 black-type winners as an owner, including 26 graded stakes winners. He also bred 47 black-type winners, of which 26 he raced as homebreds. He won a Sovereign Award as Canada's outstanding owner in 2007 and as both outstanding owner and breeder in 2009. His horses won 68 graded stakes in North America, including 10 grade 1 events. One of his top horses was Eclipse Award champion sprinter and prominent sire Speightstown, who won the 2004 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) (while racing for Eugene and Laura Melnyk). In partnership with Iris Bristow and Laura Melnyk, Eugene Melnyk won two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown in 1998 with Archers Bay, who won the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes but did not start in the Breeders' Stakes. In 2007 Melnyk Racing Stables' homebred Sealy Hill became the first filly to win the Canadian Triple Tiara and was named Canada's 2007 Horse of the Year and later inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2013. Melnyk earned his own place in the Canadian Hall of Fame in 2017.
"Eugene Melnyk was a true Canadian sportsman, one of our leading owners, and a dear friend of Woodbine and the horse racing industry here in Ontario," said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. "His contributions to the sport were significant and he was recognized with many accomplishments and awards along the way, highlighted by Sovereign Awards, an Eclipse Award, and ultimately being enshrined in the Horse Racing Hall of Fame. On behalf of Woodbine Entertainment, we send our deep condolences to his family and friends."
In 2001, Melnyk purchased the prestigious Mockingbird Farm near Ocala, Fla., and developed one of the state's leading breeding operations under the name Winding Oaks Farm. The horses Melnyk bred won 119 stakes during 2005-18. Along with Sealy Hill, such runners bred by his operation included TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) winner Wavell Avenue, Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G2T) winner Chamberlain Bridge, Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1T) winner Luke's Alley, and Pattison Canadian International Stakes (G1T) winner Bullards Alley.
Melnyk's Capital Sports & Entertainment, which he formed in 2003, owns and operates the Ottawa Senators and the Canadian Tire Centre arena. Under his ownership, the Senators played in the 2007 Stanley Cup finals and the Conference Finals in 2017.
A practicing Orthodox Catholic, Melnyk supported numerous charitable causes, including St. Joseph's Health Center, Help Us Help the Children, and St. Michael's College School in Toronto, his alma mater. A resident of Barbados, he founded Providence School for pre-kindergarten to grade 10, serving as chairman of trustees and the board of management.
Melnyk was a major donor for Anna's House, a child care center at Belmont Park that opened in 2002 and is named after his daughter. The center, which supports the largest population of backstretch workers at the New York Racing Association's three tracks, has served more than 1,000 students. His charitable organization invested more than $100-million to support local charities and community programs that help children and youth across the capital region. He was the lead donor of Roger Nielson House, a pediatric palliative care facility in Ottawa named after a beloved former coach. Each year, he hosted Skate for Kids at the Canadian Tire Centre, where he donated hockey equipment and jerseys to hundreds of underserved children.
Melnyk's family extended their sincere gratitude to the dedicated doctors and nurses who cared for him.
