Career
As a teenager, Duffy began attending harness racing events at a racetrack near his home. He left school to go to work for a local stable and eventually made his way to Toronto, Ontario where he was introduced to Thoroughbred racing. Having the physique necessary to be a jockey, he learned to ride and in 1966 obtained his jockey license.
From a base in Toronto, Lloyd Duffy would go on to an outstanding career in Canadian racing.
Frequently among the top jockeys in wins during the 1970s and 1980s at Greenwood Raceway, and at Woodbine and Fort Erie Racetracks, he also traveled to compete in the United States, Europe, Japan, and South Africa. Notable among the horses Duffy rode were two Hall of Fame inductees.
In 1981 he rode Deputy Minister who was voted the Canadian and American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt as well as Canadian Horse of the Year. The following year he was voted the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey when he was the regular jockey for Canadian Horse of the Year, Frost King.
Retired after thirty years as a jockey, on October 17, 1998, in an event that raised money for charity at the racetrack in his native Charlottetown, Lloyd Duffy was the celebrity guest jockey who rode in a "man vs horse" match race against sprinter Ben Johnson.
Duffy continues to work in the horse racing industry, exercising horses for various racing stables at Woodbine Racetrack.
