After a recent meeting of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Board of Directors, the CHRHF has announced changes to the Nomination and Election Committees, and updates to the Standardbred Driver/Trainer category.

The following changes to the hall’s Nomination and Election Committees were approved at the recent meeting.

Standardbred Committee Chairs – Longtime Standardbred Election Committee Chair Kathy Wade Vlaar, Manager of Member and Stakeholder Relations, Standardbred Canada, will move to the position of Chair, Standardbred Nomination Committee, to fill the position previously held by Darryl Kaplan, now CHRHF President.
Jeff Porchak, Director of Digital Communications, Standardbred Canada, was named Chair, Standardbred Election Committee.

Standardbred Nomination Committee – Jamie Martin, Director of Operations, Grand River Raceway, joins the Standardbred Nomination Committee, replacing Brian Webster who has served the CHRHF in various capacities over many years. The CHRHF thanks Webster for his valuable knowledge and contributions during his time volunteering with the organization.

Thoroughbred Nomination Committee – Kris Platts, Manager, Broadcast/Simulcast Operations, Woodbine Entertainment Broadcast Department, joins the Thoroughbred Nomination Committee, following Jim Bannon, Thoroughbred Racing Analyst and Handicapper, being named Vice-President of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

A complete list of all Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame committees and members can be found here.

Additonally, as part of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame’s continuing efforts to honour the most deserving people and horses who have made a significant contribution to Canadian Standardbred and Thoroughbred horse racing, a change has been made to recognize Standardbred drivers and trainers as two separate categories. Historically, Standardbred driver/trainers have been considered one category by the CHRHF. The changing landscape of harness racing now includes more people who specialize either as a trainer or driver. While there will still be individuals who succeed as both drivers and trainers, for the purpose of evaluating nominees, these people will be assigned to the category where their career has been the strongest, while still recognizing the total body of their work. The purpose of this change is to provide a more balanced comparison to their peers.

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is now accepting public nominations to be considered for the CHRHF Class of 2019.

The public is invited to participate in the nomination of horses and people who have made a significant contribution to Canadian Standardbred and Thoroughbred horse racing, for induction to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2019.

Nominations for the following will be considered:

• MALE HORSE: Stallions or geldings whose contribution to Canadian racing occurred in the past 20 years.

• FEMALE HORSE: Mares whose contribution to Canadian racing occurred in the past 20 years.

• VETERAN HORSE: Horses whose careers have been concluded for 20 years, but less than 50 years.

• PERSON: Trainers, Drivers, Jockeys.

• BUILDERS: Includes, but not limited to Breeders, Owners, Officials, and others.

• COMMUNICATORS: Includes, but not limited to writers, broadcasters, photographers, announcers.

• VETERAN PERSON: Trainers, Drivers, Jockeys whose careers have been concluded for 20 years, but less than 50 years.

All nomination submissions to be made using the form available on the CHRHF website. A PDF version of the form is available here, or may be obtained by contacting [email protected]. Complete eligibility criteria may be found here.

For further information, or to submit a completed nomination form, contact:

Standardbred Nominations:
Kathy Wade Vlaar, Standardbred Nomination Chair,
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
1-2150 Meadowvale Blvd.,
Mississauga, ON L5N 6R6
P: (905) 858-3060 ext. 207 F: (905) 858-3089
E: [email protected]

Thoroughbred Nominations:
Tom Cosgrove, Thoroughbred Nomination Chair,
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
555 Rexdale Blvd., P.O. Box 156
Toronto, ON M9W 5L2
P: (416) 213-2113
E: [email protected]

Nominations forms may also be submitted to:
Linda Rainey, Managing Director
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
P: (416) 417-9404
E: [email protected]

All submissions will be carefully considered by the Nominating Committee of the applicable breed. Three finalists in five categories for Standardbreds and five categories for Thoroughbreds will be presented to the Election Committee for final voting by secret ballot.

NOMINATION DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2019 5:00 p.m. EST.

The list of nominees selected for consideration by the Election Committee for each breed will be announced Monday, March 25, 2019. The Inductees for the 2019 class of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame will be announced Tuesday, April 9, 2019.

We invite you to visit the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame located at the West Entrance of Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Additional information about the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is available at canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com or by contacting [email protected] or 416-417-9404.

(CHRHF)