Standardbred Canada's (SC) Board of Directors met today and would like to provide an update regarding its ongoing advocacy on behalf of our membership facing financial hardship during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as offer support during this unprecedented disruption of normal business operations....read on

Standardbred Canada has compiled a valuable set of online resources for its members amid the global coronavirus pandemic....read on

On behalf of the staff and board of Horse Racing Alberta, HRA has announced that it would like to extend its deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Mara Coote-Freeman, who passed away on Wednesday, April 8 and will be missed greatly....read on

It has been announced that the 2020 book for Jimmy Freight (p,4,1:48.1s [$1,457,405]) is now full and closed....read on

Three of the most respected horsemen in Canadian harness racing -- Jack Darling, Paul MacDonell and Ben Wallace -- took part in an interview to discuss their careers on Wednesday (April 8)....read on

The 2020 U.S. Trotting Association Board of Directors Annual Meeting, which was conducted through a series of teleconferences, concluded Thursday (April 9) with the closing session of the full board....read on

“We buy yearlings and [we’re] always trying to improve ourselves. We try to get a better horse to go somewhere and are looking for that better horse to help take that next step. Hopefully it happens, and if it doesn’t, that’s fine. You keep going. It’s a good way of making a living.”...read on

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the people and horses being recognized as inductees in 2020. Five people and five horses have been elected from a very deep ballot of candidates....read on

Cal Expo has announced that the current meet at the track has come to an official end due to an extension of the emergency order relating to the COVID-19 pandemic....read on

Officials with Hippodrome 3R have issued a reminder that the April 15 sustaining payment for the 2020 Prix d’Ete is coming due....read on

The Blooded Horse Sales Company has announced via social media that its upcoming Spring Mixed Sale has been cancelled....read on

“There is no chance that I wasn’t going to be into the horses. My parents are into harness racing… The day I was born, my dad raced two horses, Coyote Sam and Future Honey, at Western Fair Raceway and they both won! For me, I think it’s just meant to be.”...read on

Sunday evening (April 5), saw another COSA TV episode featuring host Greg Blanchard and three of this generation's most accomplished and respected catch drivers - Yannick Gingras, Matt Kakaley and Tim Tetrick....read on

March 2020 is a month that most of us will never forget....read on / continuer à lire

If you were to ask longtime horse owner Bruce Kennedy what the cost of dreaming is, he might tell you the cost is $23,000. That $23,000 figure comes from the yearling sale price of Wakizashi Hanover, the 2015 North America Cup and O'Brien Award winner who was recently retired from racing....read on

As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Woodbine Entertainment is temporarily operating on a limited basis. Beginning April 4, the Ontario Resident Mare Program (ORMP) will not be staffed until further notice....read on

In this week's edition of 'Rewind,' Robert Smith takes a lengthy look back to the decade of the 1940s in the monthly version of Years Ago....read on

If you're out and about and see someone that looks like Robert Shepherd not practicing physical distancing, there's a good chance you've mistaken him for someone else....read on

The Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency (CPMA) has announced that, effective immediately, its Elimination Guidelines have been updated and will now be ONLY AVAILABLE online. The CPMA has also adjusted its guidance for clenbuterol....read on

Longtime harness racing fan and horseplayer Paul William Kirk Ransome passed away on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at the age of 72. ...read on

Trot Insider has been informed that the two-year-old sustaining payment date for a pair of stakes contested at Truro Raceway has been changed....read on

"We’re just hoping to get back to racing soon and preferably in London. There’s no doubt we’ll be ready to race when and where the tracks are open."...read on

Caretakers are the backbone of the harness racing industry. Despite everything going on with COVID-19, our caretakers are still the ones who wake up early in the morning and put our racehorses first, before anything else they will do that day for themselves....read on

It has been announced that that on March 31, 2020 the Delaware Harness Racing Commission approved a plan to distribute purses from the final two weeks of the Dover Downs meet that were not contested due to the COVID-19 pandemic....read on

Standardbred Canada would like to provide background information on the recently released Equestrian Canada survey on equine farm and facility business profiles to help clarify any possible concerns around the survey’s purpose and intention....read on

On Wednesday (April 1), the Prince Edward Island Harness Racing Industry Association, Prince Edward Island Standardbred Horse Owners Association and the Prince County Horsemen’s Club, in conjunction with Red Shores, announced that the live harness racing schedule for May has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic....read on

The 2020 Heart of Harness Racing Calendar’s feature photo for April comes courtesy of Melissa Oates (nee Hutchinson) of Abbotsford, B.C., who captured this adorable photo....read on

Walter Case Jr. was a man who could just naturally make a horse go fast. Alcohol and drugs, however, were a large part of his undoing as a top harness driver. Seemingly on a straight path since being released from jail and suffering tragedy of his own, he would just love to be able to drive horses again....read on

Trot Insider has been informed that the due date for Atlantic Aged Mares Pacing Series stakes payments has been pushed back....read on

The Quebec Jockey Club has confirmed to Trot Insider that all of its stakes payments will remain as scheduled....read on

Truro Raceway General Manager Kelly MacEachern has announced cancellations at the track due to the COVID-19 pandemic....read on

On Sunday evening (March 29), Greg Blanchard hosted a roundtable discussion interview with three of Canadian harness racing’s most accomplished drivers - Chris Christoforou, James MacDonald and Bob McClure....read on

Alberta Standardbred Horse Association President Bill Andrew has written an open letter to members of the province’s Standardbred racing industry. In the letter he explains what the readjusted, tentative plans are for Alberta harness racing and related activities in light of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic....read on

Ontario Racing today (March 27) announced financial support in line with existing race cancellation practices aimed at the province’s Standardbred horsepeople in light of the COVID-19 virus pandemic which has resulted in the cancellation of live Standardbred horse racing in Ontario....read on

“We’re working with the government on a relief fund, but we’re putting so many grooms and hot walkers and everyone else out of work. And despite the perception that horse owners are wealthy, they really aren’t. There’s a very small handful of owners that are wealthy and the rest of them are hard-working people. And they can’t make this work without any sort of funding.”...read on

On Wednesday (March 25), Greg Blanchard conducted an interview with a pair of popular racetrack announcers — Ken Middleton and Shannon 'Sugar' Doyle — which was streamed on COSA TV....read on

James Witherite is known to harness racing fans for his years of race calling and occasional performances as a bugler for major stakes events. Away from the track, though, Witherite’s musical talents extend far beyond, most notably as an accomplished composer and jazz musician....read on

The Ontario Harness Horse Association is doing what it can to help Standardbred horsepeople that are required to self-isolate....read on

“As racehorse owners and enthusiasts, we have a deep love for the sport and for our horses. There are so many theories about injuries – it’s a constant concern – and there’s so much to learn, but yet very little has been done in this area in order to so.”...read on

Due to the provincial announcement that all non-essential businesses are required to close for the next 14 days, the Ontario Harness Horse Association office will be closed at the end of business today (Monday, March 23)....read on

“I think it’s time that people start to change the way we look at the industry, and as you’ve heard me say many times, we just need to change the culture of the industry much like other sports have had to change.”...read on

Standardbred Canada (SC) is communicating daily with Equestrian Canada (EC) and is working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expedite the return process for equines (including Standardbred racehorses) to Canada from the United States....read on

"My definition of a pandemic used to be if one horse got sick, they all got sick. It was an urgent time in the barn. But now this is a whole different time we're living in. It's a crazy world right now and hopefully things get better as the pandemic goes along and we can lessen the curve and get back to racing as soon as possible."...read on

In response to the many challenges horse racing and its horsepeople are currently facing, Ontario Racing has created a task force, which includes representatives from all three breeds (Quarter Horse, Standardbred and Thoroughbred) in the province to address 'financial impacts' on the industry....read on

On Friday (March 20) officials with Rideau Carleton Raceway announced that the track would be suspending live harness racing effective immediately amid the COVID-19 pandemic....read on

The Raceway at Western Fair District has temporarily suspended live racing until further notice due to the continued spread of COVID-19....read on

Equine Guelph has announced that it has moved up the start date and extended access for both the youth (13-17) and adult offerings of its Online Horse Behaviour and Safety Course....read on

On Wednesday, March 18, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation announced the temporary suspension, until further notice, of the conduct of racing and training at its three racetracks that are currently active. This includes Flamboro Downs in Hamilton, Ontario, Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, B.C., and Fraser Downs in Surrey, B.C....read on

In consultation with its Drug Advisory Committee, the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency (CPMA) has officially added three substances to section 1 of the Schedule to the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations....read on

In a statement issued on Tuesday (March 17) the Quebec Jockey Club Board of Directors has made the decision to delay the start of the 2020 harness racing season at Hippodrome 3R....read on

The Ontario Animal Health Network has assembled and released an informational how-to entitled ‘COVID-19: Caring for your horse during a pandemic.’...read on

On Tuesday (March 10), Standardbred Canada issued the following statement regarding the four indictments which have collectively charged a total of 27 individuals with offenses relating to the administration of illegal performance-enhancing drugs....read on

On Monday, March 9, the United States Department of Justice announced the unsealing of multiple indictments relating to members of the horse racing industry....read on

The Ontario Harness Horse Association (OHHA) has issued a reminder that any grooms that were in the OHHA subsidized benefits plan are no longer covered, effective March 1, 2020....read on

Standardbred Canada is pleased to announce that effective Monday, January 6, 2020, all trainers that are SC members in good standing can have access to SC’s Self-Serve program to enter horses electronically as soon as condition sheets are made available from the race office....read on

Standardbred Canada would like to remind all owners and horsepeople that 2020 eligibility fees must be paid prior to a horse making its first start or qualifier....read on

Have you noticed ads and promotions on the Standardbred Canada website about the new FREE Member Value Program (MVP)? Are you interested in enrolling in the program, but still have questions about how it works?...read on

Standardbred Canada's Nurse Mare Program is designed to assist in matching orphaned or rejected foals with nurse mares, and now the process is even easier....read on