George Millar could produce Standardbreds anywhere. But Canada’s reigning Breeder of the Year said Ontario Breeder Rewards – that in 2025 will be about $2.5 million in total – are the prime reason he produces all of his horses in province.
In 2024, Millar Farms, which bred and campaigned the nation’s Horse of the Year, Chantilly, was second among all Standardbred breeders with total Ontario Breeder Rewards of $225,883. Of the top 10 rewards recipients, the top seven each earned more than $75,000 in rewards.
“The rewards help take the edge off the cost of the broodmare farm,” said Millar, who is based in Stouffville, Ont. “Everybody sees the nice horses that you come up with, but they don't see the so-so horses that still cost about the same amount of money to get [to the races].”
Millar was one of many Ontario breeders that said the reward money is used to reinvest in both their businesses and the Ontario economy. At a time when Ontarians are more conscious than ever about supporting Ontario businesses, the result is a churn that produces economic activity far in excess of the total value of the rewards.
“[The rewards] help support everything,” said Millar. “And there's always something. Every couple of years we’re replacing fencing on the farm. And I've got six miles of four-plank oak fencing on the farm. It can be $100,000 a year just replacing a bunch of that fencing to keep it looking nice. So, when you get those rewards in, it helps.”
Seelster Farms reinvests with 'found money'
Ann Straatman is the reproduction manager for Seelster Farms in Lucan, Ont. Seelster, one of the largest commercial breeding farms in the province, led all Ontario breeders in 2024 with total rewards of $297,103.
“For Seelster, [rewards] are found money,” said Straatman. “We don't ever count on them to pay any bills. When it comes in, and it's six figures plus, it's always something that's turned around into new broodmares or we had a big year once where we built a new barn. It's not something that sits with us.”
Straatman said the farm maintains an informal wish list – such as new mares, higher wages or benefits for staff, a new truck or other equipment.
“It’s a forever wish list… Sometimes we're lucky enough to earn some rewards that we can maybe get that wish list looked after sooner rather than later,” said Straatman. “I wish we could say that we did something fancy with it, but every bit of [the rewards] that come in are turned around to make this place run more efficiently.
“It’s a thrill to see [rewards] come in, but, like I said, we always treat it as found money, because you never know how your horses are going to perform. It's always an incentive for us to aggressively buy new broodmares and breed to more popular stallions and pay out more in service fees… We're always trying to create a variety [of horses for] public sale.”
Small breeders can reap huge rewards
Significant breeder rewards don’t just go to the large breeders. Jake Higgs and his family have only four broodmares and that only recently increased from one lone, prolific mare, Rite Outa The Park. That mare helped the high school teacher from Strathroy, Ont. earn virtually all of the $149,270 in breeder rewards he collected in 2024. It was the fourth highest total in the province last year.
Two offspring produced by Rite Outa The Park won O’Brien Awards in 2024 – Canada’s top older trotter of the year, Logan Park, and his full sister, Willys Home Run, the three-year-old trotting filly of the year. It was Willys Home Run that delivered the significant rewards to Higgs. She earned more than $430,000 on the track as a sophomore to help Higgs collect rewards exceeding a quarter of a million dollars.
“It's been amazing,” said Higgs. “[The rewards are] unmatched in the industry, as far as I know. It helps when you have a successful year, like 'Willy' did. The money falls back into the business.
“We have reinvested all our money, plus some, into purchasing new mares… We never saw ourselves increasing our mares, because we don't have a farm yet. That's the problem. We're looking for our own farm so we can bring these mares home. Right now, they're kind of spread around. That’s the next plan.”
How Ontario Breeder Rewards work
Ontario Bred Rewards are paid to the owners (or lessees) of mares that are enrolled in the Ontario Resident Mare Program prior to Sept. 1 of the foaling year. Foals from enrolled mares are considered Ontario Bred.
To be eligible a mare must be physically in the province of Ontario at the time of enrolment and remain in the province for a minimum of 180 consecutive days surrounding foaling in Ontario.
Foals racing in the Ontario Sires Stakes and finals of select open stakes races in Ontario earn Ontario Bred Rewards.
In 2025, approximately $2.5 million will be available for Ontario Bred Rewards, broken down as follows:
- $2 million based on earnings in Ontario Sires Stakes;
- $130,000 based on earnings in selected open stakes; and
- $400,000 for divisional leaders based on Ontario Sires Stakes earnings.
Millar using rewards to care for retired horses
Millar said the rewards have been “awesome,” especially in recent years when he’s had his greatest success on the track.
“I have had some rewards cheques before, but there weren't a lot,” said Millar. “And then in 2021, I think they told me my rewards cheques were like $380,000. I said, ‘I got the cheques, but there has to be a mistake. There are a few more zeros than there probably should be.’ They said, ‘Oh, that's for real.’ We had a good year that year.”
Some of the rewards money is being used by Millar to improve the lives of horses in Ontario. The province is home to some 10,000 horses connected to the racing industry. Millar said the rewards have helped him build a third farm he’s mostly using to provide lifelong care for some of his retired horses.
“The farm is just about finished,” said Millar. “The barns are just about finished. The house was finished a while ago. The paddocks are all done. The property is fenced off… That farm is for mostly my retired mares and horses, ones I can't find good homes for right away that are finished racing. I’ll leave them over there until I find a good home for them. But, you know, the older broodmares, you can't really find a home for them, so it’s just a place where they're going to live out the rest of their lives and then I'll use it for some of my mares that are barren.”
Millar’s horses were so successful in 2024 he would have earned even more in breeder rewards if it wasn’t for a cap of 20 per cent on the amount any one enroller can earn from open stakes. He topped out at $26,000 in that category. Had there not been a cap, he would have earned nearly $5,000 more.
He isn’t complaining in the least. Apart from the other uses already mentioned, some of the $225,883 he received in rewards has been used to replace farm equipment.
“We bought another tractor to work the farm,” he said. “You’re always replacing equipment and I’m trying to get more environmentally friendly. We're switching away from electricity and going to power grids and things like that. So, it's just always trying to upgrade.”
Top 10 Ontario Breeders Reward Standardbred recipients in 2024
1. Seelster Farms – $297,103
2. Millar Farms – $225,883
3. Shmuel Farhi – $154,463
4. Jake Higgs – $149,270
5. Tara Hills Stud – $99,941 (+$25,000 for standing the leading sire of two-year-old trotters, Green Manalishi S)
6. Century Spring – $86,257
7. Darryl Kaplan – $77,967
8. Prince Lee Acres – $69,140
9. Stonebridge Farm – $62,988
10. Jesse Gebhardt – $62,932
(With files from Ontario Racing)
*Editors Note: This story has been updated from an earlier version with corrected Breeders Reward totals.