On Friday, May 16, the Ontario Racing Commission made a major announcement that has the potential to dramatically change the look of standardbred racing in the province.
The Commission approved rules that will allow Racing Under Saddle races to be pari-mutuel events, and to compete for funds from the purse pool.
In its release issued Friday, the ORC stated that, ‘With the rules in place and where pari-mutuel wagering is conducted on the RUS events, the purse account can be used to provide the purse for these races.’
In many countries around the world, standardbred races are contested regularly under saddle, and top horses are trained to race both under saddle and with a racebike.
For more information, please review the documents that the ORC released Friday as part of its announcement (links to the documents appear below).
• Rules for Racing Under Saddle Events Approved by ORC
• 2014 Standardbred Directive 3 - Racing Under Saddle
• Summary of Racing Under Saddle Rules
• Process for obtaining a Standardbred Rider Licence
(With files from the ORC)