Prominent North American owner/breeder Eugene Melnyk passed away March 28, according to his family and announcement from the Ottawa Senators National Hockey League team he owned. The family statement said he faced an illness “with determination and courage.”
Melnyk is an entrepreneur, sports franchise owner, philanthropist, and successful owner/raider of elite racehorses for over 20 years in the US and Canada. He is the son of Vera and the late physician 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 on May 27, 1959, to Ukrainian parents. His motto is “carpe diem,” a popular maxim his family says he has enthusiastically embraced throughout his life. An avid hockey fan, Melnyk is the owner, governor, and president of the Ottawa Senators, the Belleville Senators of the USA Hockey League, and before that the Professionals. of Toronto St. Michael of the Ontario Hockey League. He is the founder and former chairman of Biovail Corp., once the largest pharmaceutical company in Canada. More recently, he was president and CEO of Neurolign, a fledgling medical device company, and president of Clean Beauty Collective, a boutique company that specializes in ethically sourced products. virtue. He is also a Colonel Emeritus of the Canadian Armed Forces and a member of the Canadian Equestrian Hall of Fame.
Since 1997, Melnyk has lobbied for 59 black winners as owners, including 26 classified winners. He also bred 47 black type winners, of which 26 were crossbreeds. He received the Sovereign’s Award as Canada’s Outstanding Owner in 2007 and both Outstanding Owner and Breeder in 2009. His horses have won 68 divisions. type in North America, including 10 1sts. One of his top horses is the Eclipse Championship sprinter and standout stallion Sightstown , who won the Breeders’ Cup (G1) sprint in 2004 (while racing for Eugene and Laura Melnyk). Teaming up with Iris Bristow and Laura Melnyk, Eugene Melnyk won two-legged Triple Crown of Canada in 1998 with Archer Bay , who won the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes but did not start in Breeders’ Stakes. In 2007 Melnyk Racing Stables is a family hybrid Sealy Hill became the first person to win Canada’s Third Tiara and was named Canada’s Horse of the Year 2007 and was subsequently inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2013. Melnyk earned the spot. its own in Canada’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
Sealy Hill beat Woodbine Oaks in 2007 at Woodbine
In 2001, he purchased the prestigious Mockingbird Ranch near Ocala, Fla., and developed one of the state’s premier livestock operations as Winding Oaks Ranch. The horses that Melnyk bred won 119 shares between 2005-18. Along with Sealy Hill, such athletes who have nurtured his run include TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) winners Wavell Avenue Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G2T) Winner Chamberlain Bridge Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1T) Winner Luke’s Alleyand winner of Pattison Canadian International Stakes (G1T) Bullards . Alley .
Melnyk’s Capital Sports & Entertainment, which he founded in 2003, owns and operates the Ottawa Senators and the Canadian Tire Center arena. Under his ownership, the Senators played in the Stanley Cup finals in 2007 and the Conference finals in 2017.
An Orthodox Catholic, Melnyk has supported many charitable causes, including St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Help Us Help the Children, and St. Michael’s College in Toronto, his alma mater. A resident of Barbados, he founded Providence School for grades K through 10, serving as trustee and board chair.
Melnyk is the main sponsor of Anna’s House, a childcare center in Belmont Park opened in 2002 and is named after his daughter. The center, which supports the largest number of stickmen at the three New York Racing Association races, has served more than 1,000 students. His charity has invested more than $100 million to support local charities and community programs helping children and young people across the metropolitan area. He is the principal sponsor of Roger Nielson House, a children’s palliative care facility in Ottawa named after a beloved former coach. Each year, he hosts Skate for Kids at the Canadian Tire Center, where he donates hockey equipment and jerseys to hundreds of underserved children.
Melnyk’s family extends their sincere thanks to the dedicated doctors and nurses who care for him.
