The Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) announced today that starting with the first foal crop out of the Ontario Resident Mare Program, the Standardbred Improvement Program will pay out Ontario Bred Rewards of 15% of
purse earnings for any open stakes race contested in Ontario for a purse of $100,000 or more. These enhanced Ontario Bred Rewards will be paid to eligible mare owners participating in the Ontario Resident Mare Program.
To be recognized as an Ontario Bred, the foal must have been foaled in Ontario out of an Ontario Resident Mare for that foaling year. To qualify as an Ontario Resident Mare, a mare must meet all requirements of the program, including the 180-day residency period surrounding the date of foaling.
Ontario Bred Rewards are paid to the person recognized as holding the rights to the reward, usually the person who enrolls and maintains the mare during her residency period. For foals of 2009 and onwards, the Ontario Standardbred Improvement Program offers eligible mare owners two separate rewards as follows:
Ontario Bred Rewards
- 15% of the Ontario Bred foal’s Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) earnings (sire must be OSS registered), AND
- 15% of the Ontario Bred foal’s earnings in open stakes races contested in Ontario for a purse of $100,000 or more (sire does not have to be OSS registered)
Ontario Sired Rewards
- 5% of the foal’s Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) earnings
Budget projections forecast payouts of Ontario Bred Rewards in the amount of $2.7 million in 2012, the first full year of both two-year-olds and three-year-olds.
(ORC)