Ontario breeding

Ontario Racing (OR) confirmed that John Hayes will step down as its Independent Chair, after leading the organization since March of 2018. "Horse racing is a unique partnership between all participants including owners, breeders, horsepeople and racetracks," said Hayes. "If one of the cogs is experiencing an issue, the other gears will not work as well. Building strong relationships with these partners and trusting those relationships allowed us to achieve our goals and overcome challenges in these past four years." The Long-Term Funding was among initiatives established under Hayes. Katherine...

Speightster (Speightstown--Dance Swiftly, by Danzig) has been purchased by Jay and Christine Hayden's Saintsbury Farms to stand the 2022 season at Northern Dawn Stables Inc., Hillsburgh, Ontario, Canada in a deal brokered by Chad Schumer of Schumer Bloodstock. A top-five second-crop sire in 2021 with progeny earnings approaching $4.3 million, the 'TDN Rising Star' previously stood at WinStar Farm. He will command a fee of C$6,500 this term. "Canadian breeders will surely take note of the tremendous opportunity Speightster affords," said Chad Schumer. "He is among the leading second-crop sires,...

Statistics for Ontario's part in the North American breeding industry were among The Jockey Club (TJC)'s annual reports released recently, with Ontario showing positive gains across the board. The number of Ontario-sired live foals reported to TJC through Oct. 4 was up 2.6% from last year, while the number of stallions registered in the province increased by 12.5% and the number of mares reported bred through Oct. 18 was up 13.9%. Ontario was the only jurisdiction with positive gains in all three categories. "Ontario, in terms of growth on the...

Woodbine Entertainment is increasing purses for its overnight and Ontario bonus programs effective for this year's Thoroughbred season which begins Saturday, Apr. 18, the company announced Tuesday. "Woodbine is committed to attracting and retaining top quality horses in support of a strong racing program," said Jessica Buckley, Senior Vice President of Thoroughbred and Standardbred Racing for Woodbine Entertainment. "We are pleased to offer enhanced overnight purses for some conditions as well as significant bonus increases for the Ontario Sired and Ontario Bred programs that will benefit the local horse racing...

Ontario Racing (OR) announced its $5.89 million Thoroughbred Horse Improvement Program (TIP) Breeders Awards package for 2020-21, including a new Ontario Sired Reward of Excellence program. Rewarding breeders of Ontario-bred horses at Woodbine and Fort Erie, the distribution is based on first, second and third-place finishes in most classes, including Grade I races. Additionally, a new $200,000 Ontario Sired Reward of Excellence program awards prizes to the breeders of the top three highest earning Ontario-Sired horses worldwide. A total of $50,000 each is being offered in the 2-year-old colt/gelding, 2-year-old...

Ontario Racing (OR) offered an update on the Mare Recruitment Program (MRP) and the Mare Purchase Program (MPP), a pair of Thoroughbred Horse Improvement Programs (TIP) launched last fall. A total of 79 in-foal mares have been registered through the MRP, which offers Cdn$5,000 to breeders as an incentive to bring an in-foal mare to Ontario to foal, through Jan. 14. Of these, 42 have submitted to be bred back to a registered Ontario Sire during the 2020-21 breeding season, an incentive worth Cdn$2,500. The Mare Recruitment Program, which offered...