On Wednesday, July 12, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario announced that it has revised one of its claiming provisions and that it has found favourable support in the Standardbred industry to remove the requirement for horses to wear head numbers in races.
The contents of the AGCO release on the matter appear below.
STANDARDBRED DIRECTIVE NO. 3 – 2017 – Removal of Requirement for Head Numbers and Revision to Claiming Provisions
Preamble
WHEREAS after seeking consultation from the public and industry with respect to the proposed rule changes and having consideration for recent changes in equipment, there was found to be favourable support in the Standardbred industry to remove the requirement for head numbers and revise the claiming provisions;
TAKE NOTICE that the Registrar hereby orders the Rules of Standardbred Racing 2016 be amended as follows effective immediately:
CHAPTER 6 – VIOLATIONS, PENALTIES & EXPULSIONS
6.02 Violation of the following shall make a licensee subject to a monetary penalty or suspension:
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(h) failure to have a proper head number and saddle cloth on a horse when racing;
CHAPTER 15 – CLAIMING RACES
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15.09 (a) A claimed horse, regardless of ownership, shall only race at a track or tracks in the province of Ontario for the next 60 days, except where such a horse has been nominated to participate in an added money event before it was claimed., or unless the track where the horse was claimed closes for more than 30 days. In the case of their track closing for more than 30 days, the horse is released from the provisions of this rule the day after the track closes. For the purposes of this rule, racetracks operated by Woodbine Entertainment Group shall be considered one track. Any person who violates this rule shall be subject to a suspension or monetary penalty of 10% of the claiming price or 100% of the purse for each race, whichever is greater and the horse may be suspended. A claimant shall be held in violation of this rule if he or she disposes of the horse in any manner other than by claiming and the horse races outside of the province of Ontario within 60 days of the horse being claimed.
BY ORDER OF THE REGISTRAR
Jean Major
Registrar