With its inaugural 10-day season set to begin Saturday in Quebec City, the Quebec Jockey Club has released details of its five-year plan for the standardbred industry
in Quebec.
For next year, it foresees a 50-day season with about $2 million in purses in Quebec City, chairman of the board Tony Infilise said in a letter posted on the Quebec Jockey Club website.
Plans for a new track somewhere in the Montreal area also are in the works, and the search for a general manager for the QJC also has begun.
Infilise said legislative changes permitting the resumption of Quebec's teletheatres have been slower than expected, but the jockey club is hoping they'll pass before the end of the year so the teletheatre network can be functional again by March 1.
While an estimated 70 per cent of next year's purses will be for Quebec-bred horses aged four years of age and younger, Infilise said the state and economics of the breeding industry in Quebec and uncertainty about future revenue require modifications to current definitions.
In particular, he said it would be "impractical to maintain the former policy based primarily on Quebec stallions. It would, in our opinion, be uneconomical for Quebec breeders."
Its proposal is that foals of 2010 and 2011 that are Quebec-owned at the time of foaling have a special stakes program "according to our means and reflecting the numbers of horses available," and foals of 2012 through 2016 be designated Quebec-bred if the mare resided in the province at least 240 days in the 12 months prior to foaling date, regardless of where the sire stood.
Breeders will be consulted before a firm direction is taken, Infilise said.
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)