Alvin Stein passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 in Ottawa, Ont., at the age of 83.
Stein was a loving husband of Monica for 57 years. Devoted father and father-in-law of Richard and Cindy, Marnie and Adam, and Bruce and Susan. Adored grandfather of Samantha, Molly, Jordan, Jessie, Josh, and Ryan. Cherished brother-in-law of Marie. Predeceased by his parents, Jack and Rose Stein, and his brother, Buddy. He will be dearly missed by his family and many close friends.
Stein was born and raised in Montreal before moving to Cornwall and eventually raising his family in Ottawa. He enjoyed a long, successful career as a business owner. Stein was an avid sports' fan who loved horses, squash, golf, hockey, baseball and basketball.
Stein was a longtime harness racing fan and owner/breeder along with his business partner, Irving Storfer (Banjo Farms). He raced horses under the stable name of Bru Mar Rich Stables, named after his three children (Bruce, Marnie and Richard).
Stein started off owning horses trained by Kent Baker and Charalambos Christoforou at Mohawk Raceway before moving largely to the stable of Eddie & Susie Howard in Florida and at Mohawk, and later to Ron Stone and Don Kehoe at Rideau Carleton. Stein got involved deeply with his passion for the sport by buying a farm and setting up a training establishment for Stone and Kehoe near Russell, Ont.
He started owning Standardbreds by buying shares in the Garfield Stables Partnership and had success with horses Smiling Rebecca and Future King. However, Stein had a desire to buy and/or breed his own horses and became quite successful with horses that he named with the prefix 'Mystic.' His top horse was Mystic Shore, who won the Simcoe Stakes in 1992 defeating Cinnamon Reel at 32-1, trained by Eddie Howard and driven by Roger Mayotte. Other successful campaigners were Mystic Howard and Mystic Marauder.
His greatest success in breeding was when he and Howard purchased Mystic Mistress at the 1993 Canadian Classic Sale for $8,000. After the mare was injured, Stein and Howard leased her to Warrawee Farms. She earned induction into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame as a broodmare in 2012 by producing Mystician ($1,944,962), Camystic ($779,728), Lucks Mystress ($616,605), Fenman ($387,956) and Everton ($208,270).
Stein also served on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Harness Horse Association (OHHA). He served two terms as an active director for Rideau Carleton and the Ottawa Valley.
Funeral service will be held at the Jewish Memorial Chapel, 1771 Cuba Avenue, Ottawa on Friday, April 12 at 11:30 a.m. Burial at the Jewish Memorial Gardens, 2692 Bank Street, Ottawa. Family and close friends are invited for Kiddish following the services at Congregation Machzikei Hadas Synagogue, 2310 Virginia Drive, Ottawa. Shiva will be observed privately.
Donations in Stein's memory may be made to the Monica and Alvin Stein Family Fund at Hillel Lodge would be greatly appreciated by his family.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Alvin Stein.