Here’s your chance to share the passion you feel for Canadian harness racing and be an ambassador for the sport! The Bring A Friend National Challenge is back for the third consecutive year and will be hosted at tracks across the country from July 9-12.

This promotion is a co-operative effort between Standardbred Canada members, racing fans, racetracks and SC’s ‘I Love Canadian Harness Racing’ Fan Club.

In 2013, twelve racetracks took part and in 2014, ten track partners supported this initiative. Over 2,000 new people were introduced to racing during these two weekends.

“The feedback and enthusiasm from our racetrack partners for the past two years has been very positive, and the event has been successful because so many of our members and racing fans have taken the time to introduce friends, colleagues, neighbours to racing and share their passion for the industry,” commented Kathy Wade Vlaar, SC’s manager of Industry Marketing.

So far, the following 12 tracks have confirmed that they’ll take part this year: Century Downs, Clinton Raceway, Fredericton Raceway, Grand River Raceway, Hanover Raceway, Hiawatha Horse Park, Kawartha Downs, Mohawk Racetrack, Northside Downs, Rideau Carleton Raceway, St. John’s Racing and Entertainment Centre, and Truro Raceway. Industry-wide support has grown for an event of this kind and each will be pulling out all the stops in their own unique fashion to offer an unforgettable experience.

The challenge is for everyone involved in the industry -– SC members, commission licensees, trades people, etc. –- to bring a friend to the harness races between July 9-12. The goal is to invite people who have never been to the harness races or haven’t visited a track in the past year. To ensure our guests get the VIP treatment and have an amazing experience, you will be tasked with hosting your own guests and helping them understand what happens at the track -- showing them the basics in reading a program, making bets and explaining what happens in between the races.

Our racetrack partners are going to provide activities, contests, draws and offers to enhance the experience. Some tracks will offer free programs, a free $2 bet, food and beverage discounts, draws for rides in the starting gate car, winner’s circle presentations, paddock tours, driver meet and greets, and beginner handicapping workshops.

We are relying on you, the membership and industry participants, to drive this event: promote it, invite your friends and host them at the track. Standardbred Canada is supporting and promoting this event with extensive web coverage, dedicated web pages, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter exposure.

We’ll have a centralized registration area where you can sign up and it will open on Friday, June 5 when we post the list of confirmed tracks and activities, along with our 'evites' that you can use to invite your guests. You don’t have to register to take part but those who do will be entered into a draw to win some great prizes!

We’ll also be having a few contests that will tie in to the Bring A Friend promotion so stay tuned for updates on those in the next few weeks!