Each year, the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair held in downtown Toronto, Ont. showcases all things agriculture and horses, and for numerous years that has included Standardbreds competing under the lights of the showring as road horses/roadsters.
One of the highest profile classes offered for Standardbreds at this year’s Royal is the Roadster Classic to Bike, generously sponsored by The Standardbred Journal of Mt. Hope, Ohio, for registered Standardbreds in their first or second year competing in the showring as road horses.
For exhibitors in this division of the horse show, it means searching for the right kind of trotter, one that has presence, manners and sensibility to deal with the indoor environment, lights and crowds. The roster of Standardbreds entered to compete in 2026 includes several horses familiar to the racing community, because of their success on the track:
- White Tiger – Now 10 years old, with earnings of $636,588 and a lifetime mark of 1:51.4, the Muscle Massive-Just Not Into You gelding spent much of his race career as part of TheStable.ca. He is currently owned by Triple S Equine of Newton, Ont. and trained by Greg Brunton of Carleton Place, Ont.
- Wishyoudtellme – A 10-year-old with earnings of $258,823 and a lifetime mark of 1:54.2, the Wishing Stone-Time To Tell gelding raced much of his career at tracks throughout Ontario and is now owned by Tracy Holmgren of Osgoode, Ont.
- Cheatalotpov – Now 11 years old with earnings of $194,062 in 166 starts and a lifetime mark of 1:55.2, the Muscle Mass-Charming Oaks gelding is now owned and trained by Jessika Brouillette of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Que.
- Dealin Duble – A six-year-old with earnings of $44,870, the Wheeling N Dealin-Dublin Your Money gelding is currently owned and trained by Derek Salisbury of Brome, Que.
- Stormont Calculus – A six-year-old with earnings of $17,853, the Muscle Mass-Countess Stormont gelding is currently owned and trained by Yannick Laflamme of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Que.
A total of 17 horses from Ontario, Quebec and the United States are entered to compete in the Green Roadster Classic. Due to the number of entries exceeding the maximum number of road horses permitted to compete at one time, in the showring, a qualifier will be held the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 6, after which the judge will select the top 10 horses to compete in the final for $8,000 in prize money, as part of the Saturday, Nov. 7 evening horse show.
The Friday afternoon horse show session is included as part the general admission ticket to the Royal Winter Fair. Saturday evening Horse Show tickets can be purchased as "HEP Canadian Show Jumping Championship/Mad Barn Indoor Eventing Tickets" at ticketmaster.ca.
Road horse classes begin opening day of The Royal on Friday, Nov. 6 and continue through the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 11. A complete schedule of all horse show competitions can be viewed by clicking here.
(Canadian Road Horse Association; photo of White Tiger from a victory on Sept. 19, 2023 at Woodbine Mohawk Park)