The Jockey Club of Canada’s Graded Stakes Committee held its annual review of the Graded and Listed Stakes races in Canada. The number of Graded Stakes in Canada will remain at 42. Two Graded Stakes races were downgraded.
The Graded Stakes Committee meeting was conducted by new Committee Chair, Bernard McCormack, who was accompanied by the appointed Committee Members David Anderson, Doug Anderson, Jim Bannon, Catherine Day Phillips, Ross McKague, and The Jockey Club of Canada’s Chief Steward, R. Glenn Sikura. Jeffrey Begg was unable to attend, but provided comments in advance of the meeting. As well, the attending racetrack representatives included Allen Goodsell and Teagan Goodsell from Alberta, Scott Henson from British Columbia, Ross McKague representing Manitoba, and Julia Bell, Tim Lawson, and Scott Lane from Ontario.
The Committee reviewed the North American Race Committee (NARC) figures and the Race Quality Scores (RQS) for all Graded, Listed, and potentially Listed races in Canada.
After reviewing the NARC figures and the RQS numbers for all Listed and Blacktype races in Canada, the Committee determined that the Grade 2 Bessarabian Stakes and the Grade 2 Royal North Stakes will both be downgraded to Grade 3 status. Additionally, the Century Mile Handicap, Hamilton Stakes, and Speed to Spare Championship will be upgraded to Listed status.
Chart can be downloaded here.
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