Standardbred Canada’s Board of Directors today announced that the 2020 O’Brien Awards Gala will be a virtual event.

“The harsh reality is that the pandemic is still here and large gatherings of crowds won’t be possible for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, the Board has decided to move forward with the planning of a virtual event for the 2020 O’Brien Awards,” said Ann Straatman, Chair of Standardbred Canada. “This is not an ideal situation but I’m confident that our staff will be able to deliver a first class virtual event that will properly honour our 2020 champion horses and horse people, and engage our membership.”

For the past several years, the major part of the O’Brien Awards Gala has been video streamed live so that SC members and fans of harness racing around the world could watch the award presentations.

Further details about the event will be announced in early November.

The 2020 O’Brien Awards were originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 30, 2021, at the Hilton Mississauga / Meadowvale in Mississauga, Ontario.