Standardbred Canada (SC), Ontario Racing (OR) and the Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA) are working together on behalf of their memberships to ensure the Government of Ontario understands the critical status of the industry and requesting a return to racing in the near future.
As part of the concerted effort, a joint request was made by SC, OR and COSA to Premier Ford, The Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance, The Honourable Christine Elliott, Minister of Health, The Honourable Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health to allow horse racing to resume in Ontario.
The three associations have updated the Premier on the recent mass exodus of Ontario horses and horsepeople to the US and requested a meeting as soon as possible. The ask is for Ontario horse racing to resume once current lockdown measures are lifted for various sports and recreation venues such as golf courses, etc.
At the request of Standardbred Canada, many Industry Associations across the country will also be supporting these efforts by corresponding with the Premier to emphasize the importance of the Ontario horse racing industry to the Canadian horse racing industry.
“We sincerely appreciate the efforts and support of our stakeholders across the country in communicating to the Ontario government how critical it is to allow Ontario horse racing to resume in the very near future,” said Dan Gall, President and CEO of Standardbred Canada. “Ontario horse racing is the foundation of the Canadian horse racing industry, and the impact of the pandemic to horse racing in Ontario is devastating to the entire horse racing industry from coast to coast. The government needs to understand the magnitude of the current situation and the immensity of the number of people, jobs, and horses that they are impacting, not only in Ontario but across the country.”
SC appreciates the efforts of our membership in contacting Government officials to generate awareness and understand the gravity of the current situation in the industry.
Ontario Members: if you haven’t sent a letter to your MPP, but would like to, click here to access our letter templates.
SC would like to hear from Canadian members on their COVID-19 vaccination progress. Click here to take our current web poll.
If you have any questions, or need any assistance, please email [email protected].