Stathis Enterprises and the World Chariot Racing Federation (WCRF) has announced that the WCRF will be conducting a pre-Olympic (VIP by invitation only) party on April 24 at the International Polo Grounds.

The WCRF organization is dedicated to the resurrecting chariot racing in the Olympics while revitalization and reshaping the sport of harness racing. This is the second straight year that the WCRF is celebrating at the International Polo Club in Wellington during the U.S. Polo Championship match. And the WCRF Olympic countries’ dedicated exotic chariots will be on display at the event.

The WCRF Olympic premier tour will be highlighted by exhibition events (including an exhibition race on May 3 in Greece) as the sport that the ancient Olympics were founded on. The tour travels to Greece on Sunday, May 1 -- the Christian-Greek Orthodox Easter -- before heading to Italy, Sweden, Germany, France, Wales and concluding in Ireland in August.

Stathis Enterprises and the WCRF is pushing for the return of exotic chariot racing to the Olympics sport roster. “During the Olympics, all countries would stop wars to promote world peace through camaraderie and sportsmanship,” said Sam Stathis, of the WCRF. “That is what we would like to make happen once again.

“How do we know the future of chariot racing in the Olympics?” Stathis explained, “Because we are creating the future! As chariot racing has gone into a dark age, it is being resurrected symbolically during the holiest of days, the Christian-Greek Orthodox Easter.”

Stathis said the pre-Olympic event is also raising funds for the Special Olympics and Horses Healing Hearts.

Born Sotirios Stathopoulos in Analtsi, Greece, Sam Stathis is a seventh generation Stathopoulos and was raised just 10 kilometers from where his ancestors fought off King Phillip II, the father of Alexander the Great, in the battle of Thermopylae. He is looking forward to visiting the area during the WCRF tour, and to pay homage to the site.

Already committed internationally to the WCRF are top equestrienne gold medalists and world renowned Standardbred horsemen and women. Along with his champion trotting stable, Celebrity Farms, Stathis is partners on two internationally recognized jumpers that are clones of two-time Olympic Gold Medalist champion Sapphire. Both clones are six-year-olds competing towards the road to the Olympics.

On April 27, the Christian-Greek Orthodox Ash Wednesday, the WCRF will be leaving for Greece from the ashes of Barn #9 at the South Florida Trotting Center. It is symbolic as Barn #9 was Sam Stathis’s barn where 12 horses perished on March 16 in a tragic fire.

A documentary of the devastating fire and a movie are already in production.

The documentary, entitled Barn9, will detail the fire at Stathis’s South Florida Trotting Center, following the events surrounding the fire, exploring new technology to not only prevent such disasters in the future, but also train fire rescue units in the handling of large animals during and after a fire. It will also feature extensive technology updates for veterinarians on treating large animal fire victims and new standards for barn and stable protocols for fire safety.

The film, entitled Chariots On Fire, will cover the history of chariot racing from Egypt to the Olympics in Greece, the Coliseum in Rome to the modern day industry and the new technology that is reviving the sport today.

Stathis is the owner of the South Florida Trotting Center in Lake Worth, Celebrity Farms in Goshen, New York, and the CEO and founder of Stathis Enterprises, which comprises Polo Electric, Celebrity Vision Marketing, Eventsy, Intelligent Job Sites, Celebrity Farms Racing Stable, Theometrics and Theometrics University.

(Stathis Enterprises)