To kick off its second half century, the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) program will expand to six Grassroots Series opportunities in 2025 with purses for each division increasing to $25,000.
Fuelled through a partnership with the Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA) and Woodbine Mohawk Park, overall purses at the Grassroots level will increase by 24 per cent over the 2024 season.
“We heard the feedback from owners and trainers that purses needed to be higher in the Grassroots,” said Bill O’Donnell, chair of Ontario Racing’s Standardbred Improvement Program (SIP) Committee and president of COSA. “And we hope the additional leg will have a positive impact on the horse population through the fall.”
The six Grassroots Series opportunities will be contested in five legs, with one leg having two events numbered “A” and “B.” The five legs will be followed by $25,000 Grassroots Consolations on Thursday, Sept. 25 for the two-year-olds and Friday, Sept. 26 for the three-year-olds, and $75,000 Grassroots Championships on Saturday, Sept. 27, all at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
As in the 2024 season, each Grassroots champion will be able to enter and draw into its respective Gold Series Super Final if it does not fill with Gold Series point earners.
In 2025, the five Gold Series legs will be worth $180,000 divided by the number of divisions, or $140,000 for a single division, followed by $300,000 Super Finals at Mohawk on Friday, Oct. 10 for the two-year-olds and Saturday, Oct. 11 for the three-year-olds. The Gold Series Mid-Season Consolation and Finals will not return in 2025.
The Prospect Series will once again consist of eight opportunities contested in five legs, with divisions going for a purse of $8,000. The Prospect Series Finals will be increased to $20,000 and go postward on Friday, Oct. 3 for three-year-olds and Tuesday, Oct. 7 for two-year-olds, both at The Raceway at Western Fair District.
“Creating the budget was challenging again this year,” said O’Donnell. “Wagering by Ontarians on horse racing provides about 60 per cent of the funding for the OSS and it has decreased by almost $100 million over the last two years.”
Fewer Grassroots Series divisions and Gold Series Mid-Season Consolations than budgeted, along with an increasing number of single division Gold Series legs, resulted in the OSS program finishing under budget in 2024, which helped support the expansion of the 2025 Grassroots program. COSA and Mohawk also committed to funding half of the purse for the additional Grassroots Series opportunities.
“A strong OSS program is important for racing in Ontario,” said O’Donnell. “We are all committed to making sure it continues to be one of the best sires stakes programs around.”
(Ontario Sires Stakes)