In a release sent out Friday afternoon, officials with the Ontario Racing Program have announced that Flamboro horsepeople are encouraged to ask questions and provide input when ORP IM Group officials are in the Flamboro Downs paddock on Wednesday, January 25.

The contents of the ORP release appear below.

In an effort to continue their dialogue with the racing community, members of the Ontario Racing Program’s Implementation and Monitoring (IM) Group will be travelling to Flamboro Downs on Wednesday, January 25, 2012, and will be available in the paddock area to meet horsepeople and answer questions about the program after the first race.

Previous track visits have included Georgian and Western Fair, and the IM Group will be travelling to other tracks in the upcoming months. Confirmation and meeting schedules will be released at that time.

“Getting input from horsepeople has been one of our top priorities since the inception of the program,” said Wendy Hoogeveen, speaking on behalf of the IM Group. “It is important for us to get the message out about what is happening and why, and it is important for us to hear from horsepeople directly about their concerns, but, more importantly about their ideas. The IM Group co-ordinates and makes decisions on the input received from racetracks, horsepeople, and other interested people from the community, with the end goal of working together to build and support a strong and sustainable Ontario racing industry within the framework of the Ontario Racing Program.”

The mandate of the IM Group is to implement and monitor the elements of the Ontario Racing Program and to ensure the Program is flexible enough to change, where the need for change is demonstrated and determined to be warranted.