Joe O'Brien Memorial

TO BE RACED AT: Charlottetown Driving Park and Summerside Raceway.

FORMAT: Two legs for each of the 2-year-old pacing colts and 3-year-old pacing colts divisions. Charlottetown Driving Park and Summerside Raceway will each host one leg of each division.

BREEDERS AWARD: Breeders’ awards, as established by the sponsor, will be paid to the broodmare’s first owner of record at the time of foaling for horses earning purse money in this event. Eligibility requires that the horse's certificate of registration indicates Prince Edward Island as the place of foaling, and that the broodmare resided on PEI for a minimum of 183 days within the foaling year. Verification of residency must be provided through a signed affidavit submitted to the PEIHRIA, prior to December 1st of the foaling year. The PEIHRIA will distribute these awards, contingent upon funding available from government programs supporting the Island breeding industry.

QUALIFICATION: All declared entries must have met and continue to meet qualifying standards as set forth by the Atlantic Standardbred Breeders Association or as amended by the participating racetrack with the approval of the PEI Harness Racing Industry Association.

FUNDING: $250,000 Added ($125,000 at both 2 and 3). Host tracks add $2,000 per Gold division and $1,500 per Grassroots division.

CONDITION CHANGES: The stake will now have grassroots earnings thresholds for before and after August 1st at participating Island tracks.

GENERAL CONDITIONS:
1.MPHRC assumes no liability for purses, injury, damages, or loss to participants in this event.
2. For this program, PEI foaled shall be defined as: A foal whose place of birth on the applicable
Standardbred Canada/USTA registration certificate is indicated to be Prince Edward Island.
3. Each event is to be contested at one mile (1609 m).
4. Purse distribution for five or more finishers is 45%,25%, 15%, 10% and 5%; four finishers is 50%, 25%, 15% and 10%; three finishers 50%, 30% and 20%; two finishers 60% and 40%, and one finisher is 100%.
5. All nominating, sustaining, and starting fees shall be added to the purses with no deduction for clerical or managerial work, advertising, or publicity.
6. Events will be raced in Gold and Grassroots formats. For any event held before August 1 st , two- year-old pacers with $10,000 or less in lifetime earnings and three-year olds with $30,000 or less in lifetime earnings at time of declaration will be eligible to race in a grassroots division. For any event held after August 1 st , two-year-old pacers with $20,000 or less in lifetime earnings and three-year-old pacers with $40,000 or less in lifetime earnings at time of declaration will be eligible to race in a grassroots division. Horses fitting the grassroots thresholds have the option to declare into a gold division. All horses with earnings exceeding the grassroots thresholds must compete in the gold division.
7. If more horses declare to start than are permitted in one dash on the track where the race is to take place, the event shall be split into divisions with entries determined by Standardbred Canada electronic draw. No division shall consist of more than eight (8) entries. If two or more divisions are required, the host track shall add the regular portion to each division.
8. Any entry changing gait after the sustaining fee(s) have been made will be transferred to the new gait adopted, providing such request is in writing. The starting fees for the said entry shall be applied to the new gait.
9. The PEI Harness Racing Industry Association, within its sole discretion, may from time to time amend the terms, conditions, and/or to the purse structure of the Joe O’Brien Memorial Stake of any kind whatsoever, including added money, as well as nomination and sustaining payments and starting fees with the approval of the MPHRC and proper notice given to the industry, and the nominator agrees to be bound by such changes.
10. Should conditions beyond the control of the PEIHRIA prevent the racing of any event, the PEIHRIA reserves the right to declare off any event and redistribute the money to those horses currently eligible, or to transfer the event to another date, or to another track, or to do both.
11. If an explicit interpretation of these conditions might not be acceptable to all parties, the PEIHRIA Board of Directors reserves the right to interpret these conditions in an implicit manner in accordance with the goals and objectives of the organization as may be established and amended from time to time with the approval of the MPHRC and proper notice given to the industry.
12. Standardbred Canada and the PEIHRIA assume no responsibility for nominations or payments made by mail which are not received. Sending payments by Registered Mail is recommended. All payments must be post-marked no later than the said due date.