Rexdale, ON –Several sires with Ontario connections have recently found themselves at the top of the North American Earnings List, according to The Blood-Horse sire list compiled through equineline.com this past week.

Smart Strike, bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm, leads the pack with over $13,777,385 in progeny race earnings incurred in 2007. A son of Mr. Prospector, Smart Strike soared to the top of the list after Curlin and English Channel recorded 2007 race earnings of over $5.1 million and $2.6 million respectively. Sam-Son Farm’s homebred Strike Softly also added to the list with her earnings this year of $305,775.

Gustav Schickedanz’s Ontario-bred Langfuhr is listed fourth on the list with over $7.7 million, thanks to earnings this year from progenies such as Ontario’s Jambalaya ($979,421) and Last Answer ($226,2788). Awesome Again, bred in Ontario by Frank Stronach, followed in fifth place with earnings of over $7 million resulting from progenies such as Ginger Punch ($1,827,060) and Awesome Gem ($1,032,400). Earnings from two notable Ontario-breds: Marchfield ($371,524) and Indian Vale ($469,427), both bred by Eugene Melnyk, assisted in sire A.P. Indy’s second place ranking of over $8.8 million on the North American Earnings list.

“We’re very excited about this news,” explains Julie Coulter, General Manager of the Ontario CTHS. “It demonstrates just how powerful our Ontario product has become, and it validates the high turnout and selling figures we’ve recorded at our last few sales. Ontario is definitely coming on strong in the Thoroughbred racing industry, and we expect this province to pull ahead as the world-class choice for both yearlings and racehorses before too long.”