Standardbred Canada understands that the impact of the pandemic to horse racing in Ontario is devastating to the entire horse industry.

Our main concern is always on the safety and health of all participants and the overall well-being of public health. There are tens of thousands of participants that rely on racing to care for their horses and various jobs related to horse racing and agriculture throughout rural Canada and we need to come together to help our industry at this critical time.

Ontario Racing has asked Standardbred Canada to bring awareness and recognition to the plight of the industry in Ontario. While being respectful of the guidance of our health authorities, we ask the Ontario government to give the horse industry full consideration as it plans the next phases of the health lockdown. The government needs to understand the immensity of the number of people they're impacting and be cognizant of the financial and mental health consequences.

We can all agree that purse monies and Woodbine is the economic driver of the horse industry with success measured and derived by mutuel handle. Our members across the country have billions of dollars of investment in livestock and farmlands and we need all sectors/partners of the entire industry to perform and successfully work together to have a vibrant prosperous horse industry.

On behalf of Ontario Racing, Standardbred Canada is asking our Ontario members to please support the industry by writing to your elected MPP's to bring awareness and a consistent approach in an effort to allow the resumption of the professional sport of horse racing in Ontario.

The industry has shown it can operate safely and successfully and is prepared to adhere to any and all new governmental health protocols and operational procedures that could be implemented for racing to operate in Ontario.

Please find a link to materials provided by Ontario Racing that allows your voice to be heard very easily. Document not loading below? Please refresh your page or click the link to open in a new window.

Ontario members will find a prewritten letter template (click here to download) and a guide on how to fill out the letter template. In addition, the guide provides a quick and easy link to identify your local member(s) of provincial parliament and their associate contact information.

Standardbred Canada encourages Ontario members to use these tools and send your letter to your local member(s) of provincial parliament as soon as possible to have your voice heard!

Standardbred Canada stands at the ready to support any other province facing shut downs by providing similar tools to reach your local government.