Sue Leslie
Woodbine Entertainment and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario have reached an agreement in principle on a new two-year deal that boosts purses by $5.7 million, according to a press release from the racetrack on Wednesday afternoon. The new agreement commits $64.7 million in purses in 2025 and $65 million in 2026, both with 128-day race meets. The upcoming 2025 season kicks off on Saturday, Apr. 26 and concludes on Sunday, Dec. 14. "We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with the HBPA that increases purses...
At a recent board meeting of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (CHRHF), the Thoroughbred committees received several updates which were approved in advance of the CHRHF nominations and elections for 2025, the organization said in a press release Wednesday. Glenn Sikura, CHRHF 2023 Thoroughbred Builder Inductee, was appointed as the Thoroughbred Nomination Committee Chair. Robert Landry, CHRHF 2014 Jockey Inductee becomes a member of the Thoroughbred Nomination Committee to fill the position previously held by Tom Cosgrove. A member of the CHRHF Thoroughbred Election Committee since 2019, Ontario-based...
Doug Anderson has been named chief steward of The Jockey Club of Canada, effective June 29. Anderson succeeds R. Glenn Sikura, who served two three-year terms as chief steward. Anderson, an owner of Sovereign Award winners A Bit o' Gold and Millie Girl, breeds a small band of mares in Ontario each year and races as Braconcrest Inc. He is on the board of the CTHS (Ontario Division) and avidly supports Thoroughbred retirement, visiting and riding his own retirees multiple times weekly. Sikura will remain on the Board of Stewards...
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...
Six-time highest-level winner Tepin (Bernstein) will be among five Thoroughbred inductees into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame for 2020, it was announced Tuesday. Other Thoroughbred inductees are longtime industry fixture Sue Leslie, jockey Gary Boulanger, trainer Michael Keogh and Play the King (King of Spain {GB}). Tepin, trained by 2016 Canadian Hall of Fame inductee and 2020 U.S. Hall of Fame finalist Mark Casse for Robert Masterson, racked up 13 career wins and $4,437,918, including scores in the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Mile, 2016 G1 Queen Anne S....
The recent announcement by the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency (CPMA) that Clenbuterol can no longer be used within 28 days of a horse racing was something trainer Mark Casse had been waiting a long time to hear. The veteran trainer has been the sport's most outspoken critic of what he saw as the abuse of the drug and the new regulations in Canada will be among the strictest in North American racing. But Casse said that the new rules only go so far in curbing the problem and that the real...