FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OSS Drops Wild Card Events MISSISSAUGA, January 8, 2004 � Wild Card events will not be included in the Ontario Sires Stakes racing schedule in 2004. On the recommendation of its Standardbred Review Committee, the Board of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association recommended to the Ontario Racing Commission that the Wild Card events be removed.
The Ontario Racing Commission has approved the change and beginning this year one of the Grassroots events will be numbered and lettered. As in the past, horsemen cannot enter their horses in the Gold and the conflicting Grassroots event of the same number. However, this year one of the Grassroots events will have a number and a letter (ex. 3a and 3b). Therefore, the horsemen can enter either the Gold event or the two Grassroots events of that number.
“In 2004, some of these combined Grassroots events will be at the beginning, some mid-season and some at the end of the season,” said Karen Hauver, Standardbred Review Committee Chair and OSS Administration Coordinator with the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association. “This will allow the Standardbred Review Committee to monitor the impact, if any, this change will have on the racing schedule.”
This change will not affect the purses or the number of races held at each standardbred track in Ontario.
“There was general displeasure with the Wild Card events by horsemen,” said Paul Lindsey, the representative of the Ontario Harness Horse Association on the board of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association. “This action by the OHRIA board and the ORC subsequently will be met positively by OSS participants.”
The OSS racing schedule will be posted on the OSS and OHRIA websites early in the new year.
The standardbred Ontario Sires Stakes is a division of the Horse Improvement Program, a breeding and racing incentive program that was established in 1974 by the Ontario Government and is administered by OHRIA.
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) is an umbrella association, which represents all segments of the horse racing industry. OHRIA was formed in 1994 to address the unique challenges facing the industry in a dynamic gaming and entertainment market. The strategic vision of the industry is to be a world-class leader in horse racing and breeding.
Horse racing is the third largest and most labour intensive agricultural industry in Ontario, generating over 60,000 jobs. Horse racing is an important part of the agricultural economy and supports the overall provincial economic base.
For more information contact: Karen Hauver OSS Administration Coordinator 519-369-3545