Presented by the Bill Galvin Racing Alliance 

The Contests

The Youth Literary Derby and Youth Art Derby are horse-themed contests designed to engage Ontario-resident students in Grades 3 through 8 (for Literary) and 3 through 12 (for Art) with separate divisions for juniors, intermediates, and seniors. The contests are projects of the non-profit Bill Galvin Racing Alliance (BGRA) with support from many sponsors including Equine Guelph (University of Guelph). 

The Youth Literary Derby is a juried, Standardbred horse-themed writing contest for Ontario students in Grades 3-8 as of June 1, 2025 and it carries $2,000 in prize money. The derby is designed to encourage writing and literacy skills. It has been constructed to reach out to horse-loving kids who possess a flair for writing poetry or short stories. 

The Youth Art Derby is a juried, Standardbred horse-themed art contest for Ontario students in Grades 3-12 as of June 1, 2025 and it carries $1,500 in prize money. This derby is designed to encourage creative expression through drawing and sketching. It is for horse-loving kids who possess an artistic flair. 

Cash prizes, again sponsored by Tom Rankin of Rankin Construction, will be awarded to the top three in each of the contest divisions ($250, $150 and $100). Another sponsor, Equine Guelph, a division of the University of Guelph, has generously donated complimentary registration to its Youth Horse Behaviour and Safety online courses to winners who are 13 years of age or older. 

The BGRA’s goal is to encourage students to improve their literary and artistic skills through a connection with horses. There is plenty of Standardbred information under the Resources section of our website at BGRacingAlliance.ca.  

These contests are organized by the Bill Galvin Racing Alliance, a registered non-profit organization named after the late long-time horseman, author, poet, and publisher, Bill Galvin. Galvin was a lifelong promoter of the equine industry and took great pleasure in connecting children with horses. 

The contests close on August 31st and in early October all finalists will be invited to a special event at Woodbine Mohawk Park. There, they will participate in behind-the-scenes tours and find out what prize they won. 

More information can be found on the Bill Galvin Racing Alliance website, or contact Karen Hauver at 519-369-8850 if you have any questions.