Standardbred Canada is pleased to announce that it will host the 2017 World Trotting Conference and World Driving Championship.

The event, which is held every two years, will coincide with the 250th Anniversary of horse racing in Canada. It will also mark the 25th edition of the World Trotting Conference, an event that was inaugurated in 1969 in the United States.

Today, at the closing ceremonies of this year’s World Trotting Conference, Australian officials formally passed the torch to Canada.

“We are delighted and very excited about the opportunity to welcome the global Standardbred racing industry to our country in 2017,” said John Gallinger, President and CEO of Standardbred Canada. “To tie this in with the 250th Anniversary of horse racing in Canada is really quite special.

“Every year, the bar is set very high,” said Gallinger. “We are inspired by the success of this year’s World Trotting Conference and World Driving Championship, in Sydney, Australia, and we are going to be working very hard over the next two years to ensure that our event is world class.”

While locations and venues for 2017 will be confirmed in the coming months, one driver is already penciled in for the trip to Canada. Dexter Dunn, from New Zealand, by virtue of his victory in Australia, will be guaranteed a spot in the World Driving Championship. He will be one of 11 international drivers taking part in the event.

"I've never been to Canada so I'm really looking forward to competing in 2017," said Dunn.

Canada has previously hosted the World Trotting Conference and World Driving Championship in 1973, 1989 and 2003. Canada has won the World Driving Championship in 1970 (Herve Filion), 1999 (Sylvain Filion), 2001 (Jody Jamieson) and 2011 (Jody Jamieson), but has never won on home soil.

Standardbred Canada will release more information about the 2017 World Trotting Conference and World Driving Championship as it becomes available.