Paul Godfrey, chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), has been fired. And, as a result, all seven members of the OLG Board of Directors have resigned. Godfrey, who took on the role as chair of the OLG in 2009, has reinvented the organization, helping it become modern and more efficient, according to […]
Horse Racing News
As reported on May 13th, Ontario’s Premier, Kathleen Wynne, has tasked the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel with producing a draft plan for integrating horse racing into the Ontario gaming strategy by June, and a final plan by October. Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) president, Sue Leslie, recently did an At the Gate podcast […]
Details of the 2013 Quarter Horse Racing Industry Development Program (QHRIDP) have been announced by the Program Administrator. Cooperatively developed with input from the Quarter Horse industry, the 2013 Program maintains a solid racing program and significant support for breeders. With purses being offered of close to $3.7 million, the 2013 Racing Program includes a stakes program worth over $750,000, […]
Ontario has asked the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel to bring forward a long-term plan to implement recommendations from its final report. As transition funding negotiations with track operators are now substantially complete, the province has asked the panel for a plan that sets a clear path forward on: • modernizing the governance and regulation […]
Seventy-three horses have been made eligible for the 154th edition of the Queen’s Plate. The historic Plate, set for Sunday, July 7th at Woodbine, is North America’s longest continuously-run stakes race and first jewel in Canada’s Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. A $500 payment must have accompanied the nomination by May 1st. Last year, Canyon […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) has designed a survey to gather information with which to present an accurate picture of the personal effect the cancellation of slots at the racetracks (SARP) has had on the horse racing and breeding industry in Ontario. While industry participants may be aware of the devastating effects the OLG’s […]
The Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) notes that the Vernon Downs’ stable area remains under quarantine as a safety precaution after a case of Equine Herpes Virus-1 (EHV-1) was diagnosed on Saturday. The virus is currently contained to one barn on the Vernon backstretch. Due to the report of this confirmed case, ORC Manager of Veterinary Services Dr. Adam Chambers […]
Pyrite Mountain, ridden by Luis Contreras for trainer Mark Frostad, announced his Queen’s Plate intentions by outbattling John Oxley’s Uncaptured in the $100,000 Wando Stakes Sunday at Woodbine. Sent postward the 7-2 second choice behind 2-5 Uncaptured, Canada`s Horse of the Year in 2012 for trainer Mark Casse, Pyrite Mountain was content to lag behind […]
As reported on April 23rd, a horse in Wellington County tested positive for Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM), caused by equine herpes virus 1 (EHV-1). The Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) has determined that this case did not involve a racehorse. However, they are still urging owners to take precautions against the spread of disease and to […]
Alberta racing fans have been eagerly awaiting news on the development of the Balzac Racetrack Entertainment Centre. Recently, United Horsemen of Alberta (UHA) president Darcy Marler provided an encouraging update to the industry. At the Alberta Standardbred Horse Association’s annual general meeting in March, Marler announced that funding for the project has now been secured. […]
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has confirmed that Newmarket-based trainer Gerard Butler is under investigation following positive tests for a banned substance in February. Butler told the Independent that, in what he described as an “unpardonable misjudgement”, four of his horses had been treated with Sungate, a joint treatment which contains a banned substance, on […]
Suspended trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni was guilty of a “widespread systematic misuse of illegal substances”, according to the British Horseracing Authority. Newmarket-based Al Zarooni was banned for eight years last Thursday after he admitted administering anabolic steroids to 15 horses in his care. The BHA confirmed the 37-year-old trainer, who was at the helm of […]
As the 2013 racing season gets underway, the details of the 2013 Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) have been released by the Program Administrator of the Horse Improvement Program. Cooperatively developed with input from the Thoroughbred industry, the 2013 Program provides incentives to breed and own horses in Ontario, though represents a 25% decline from 2012. […]
Essence Hit Man won the $169,200 Jacques Cartier Stakes for the third year in a row with a powerful front-running performance on Saturday, at Woodbine. Trained by Sylvain Pion and ridden by Jesse Campbell for owners A&G Racing Stable, Essence Hit Man, racing without his customary blinkers, was relaxed out of the gate notching a […]
Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni has been banned from racing for eight years by the disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority, after 11 horses in his care tested positive for two banned anabolic steroids. Reports indicate that Al Zarooni instructed an unknowing veterinary assistant to administer ethylestranol to seven horses and stanozolol to four […]
