February 23, 2012

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“The Story of Harness Racing by Currier & Ives” Returning From 3-year European Tour, Now Available for Bookings

 

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame’s free traveling exhibit,“The Story of Harness Racing by Currier & Ives,” is rapidly nearing the end of its nearly three-year-long European Tour.

Currently “Currier & Ives” is at the magnificent Musée du Trot in Grosbois, France, where it remains on exhibit to coincide with a second consecutive Prix d’Amerique (Sunday, January 29).

“The Story of Harness Racing by Currier & Ives,” nationally sponsored by the CTW Foundation and Bob Tucker of Stonegate Standardbred Farms, consists of more than 30 lithographs which illustrate harness racing’s important role in American culture and history.

Prints depicting great trotting horses, bucolic mid-18th century scenes and comedic adventures convey a picturesque view of Americana prior to the advent and development of photography.

Since its inception in 2001, “The Story of Harness Racing by Currier & Ives” has been seen by nearly 425,000 people from California to the Canadian Maritimes; from Florida to Sweden.

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame continues to be indebted to its 2011 Pinnacle Award honoree Margareta Wallenius-Kleberg for sponsoring the “Currier & Ives” European Tour.

“The Story of Harness Racing by Currier & Ives” is currently available to be hosted by museums, art galleries, libraries, race tracks and all appropriate venues. To be considered,venues must have adequate wall space, security, and a climate-controlled environment.

Host applicants are considered on a first come, first served basis. If you are interested inhosting the exhibit – or can suggest any appropriate venues in your area – please contact the Museum as soon as you can.

The Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame is located at 240 Main Street in Goshen,New York and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last tour 4:00 p.m.) Thanks to US Trotting Association suppor,t the Museum is currently offering free admission for walk-in visitors and $4.00/person for group docent-guided tours.

For information on the Museum, free traveling exhibits, educational programs, special events, and gift shop
services, please call 845.294.6330 or visit www.harnessmuseum.com.

(Harness Racing Museum)

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RACE DAY Documentary Hits the Big Screen

 

Be sure to mark Wednesday, Feb. 8th on your calendar for Launch Party for the RACE DAY documentary at the Galaxy Cineplex Theatre in Milton from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.

The I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club and Iron Horse Photo are putting together an event not to be missed. Tickets are definitely limited and must be purchased ahead. There’ll be no sales at the door.

It’ll be a fun-filled evening with photos on the red carpet with some of the cast members, fantastic prize draws, and the RACE DAY documentary, an exclusive screening of the Race Day Bloopers Reel and a Q & A with some of the cast including Jody Jamieson, Anthony MacDonald, Randy Waples, Doug McNair, Rick Zeron and Phil Hudon.

RACE DAY was created with user generated content. All of the footage used in the film was shot on one day, Saturday, August 6, 2011, by the people who love, live and breathe harness racing. RACE DAY tells a story filled with colour, emotion, and characters of the greatest game in the world.

Tickets are available for purchase online for just $12. Tickets are also available from Standardbred Canada’s Industry Marketing Department (905-858-3060) or Kelly Spencer at Iron Horse Photo at kelly@racedaydoc.com or (519-886-7041).

The RACE DAY documentary is being previewed at the O’Brien Awards on Saturday, January 28.

For more information on the RACE DAY Launch Party, contact Iron Horse Photo or Standardbred Canada’s Industry Marketing Department at the numbers listed above.

 

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Race Day Documentary to Debut at O’Brien Awards

Race Day, a short documentary about harness racing , will  premiere at the 2011 O’Brien Awards Black Tie Gala on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel in Mississauga, ON.

Guests at the national gala, which honours the sport’s champion horses and horse people from the past season, will be able to watch the entire Race Day documentary, courtesy of its producers, Iron Horse Photo Inc., in co-operation with Standardbred Canada.  All guests will also be given a complimentary DVD copy of Race Day to take home.

“We (Standardbred Canada) jumped at the opportunity to premiere Race Day at the O’Brien Awards when Iron Horse approached us,” commented Kathy Wade Vlaar, Standardbred Canada’s Manager of Industry Marketing, “I can’t think of a better racing event to showcase this much anticipated production.   This is a great feature for us and it will be very exciting for Iron Horse to see the fruition of their efforts on the big screen and to get the reaction of the industry.  I’m also guessing that we might catch a glimpse of some of the O’Brien Award nominees in Race Day.”

Race Day, which was partially funded by the Ontario Standardbred Revenue Allocation Marketing Fund, is 23 minutes in length.

Here’s a sneak preview:

 

Iron Horse Photo Inc., which is owned and operated by Kelly Spencer, an award-winning harness racing publicist and photographer, specializes in equine photography and video production.  Spencer is also the Director Of Marketing & Communications at Grand River Raceway in Elora, ON Canada.

“We’ve focused on crafting a film which showcases the personality of the sport through its characters,” explained  producer/director  Spencer. “A good film is really just a good story told by great characters, and this film has plenty. Audiences can be captivated by a good story regardless of their familiarity with the subject matter.

My hope for Race Day is exactly that – to raise awareness of the sport and broaden its appeal by facilitating a connection to its characters. After its premiere at the O’Brien Awards, we’ll work hard to maximize the usefulness of this film in achieving that goal by plugging it into film festivals, local TV programming, online views, and other tactics that fit the specs.”

The inspiration for Race Day came from the global experimental feature documentary Life In A Day.  A call went out to YouTube users in May 2010 to take a video camera and record their day on Saturday, July 24, 2010. The producers received 80,000 videos containing 4,500 hours of footage. The final piece was 90 minutes in length and premiered on YouTube during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Race Day was also created with user generated content.  All of the footage used in the film was shot on saturday, August 6, 2011 by the people who love, live and breathe harness racing.   Race Day tells a story filled with colour, emotion, and characters of the greatest game in the world.

Race Day will be played for guests prior to the awards in Graydon Hall, and will kick off the evening’s celebration of Canadian harness racing.

Following its premiere, Race Day will be available at www.RaceDayDoc.com and on the Race Day Doc YouTube channel. RACE DAY will be supported by a publicity campaign which will promote the film for inclusion in film festivals and contests, and for distribution across the country.

(Standardbred Canada)

 

 

 

 

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Electrical Image Still a Winner in the Show Ring

 

 

(L. to R.) Electrical Image's groom, Mr. Hebert, COSA Executive Assistant Cathy Boughton, COSA President Bill O'Donnell and Melissa Kahnert. (Photo by Howard Schatzberg)

 

 

Former OSS winner Electrical Image proved right at home in his second career with a scintillating show ring performance in the Speed and Action Road Horse to Bike Canadian Championship Stake at the Royal Winter Fair this year.

Sebastien Hebert of Saint Charles de Drummond, QC owns the now 12-year-old Balanced Image gelding and was at the lines to take down the winner’s $2400 share of the purse.

Electrical Image won 22 races and over $80,000 on the racetrack.

Always an audience favourite for its speed and showmanship, the “Bike” class provides another opportunity to showcase the Standardbred breed. This year’s $7500 purse paid out to eighth place and was co-sponsored by COSA and harness horse owner and breeder James P. McClocklin.

For more information on Canada’s Roadster world, see that showhorse fraternity’s website at: roadhorse.ca.

 

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“Bet Night Live” Spurs New HPI Accounts, Increased Wagering and Larger TV Audience

 

Following the conclusion of Bet Night Live’s 2011 online handicapping contest on Monday, Nov.28th, Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) has indicated that it is pleased with the results of the innovative concept.

Bet Night Live (BNL) was launched in May 2010, and replaced Race Night on The Score. The redesigned two-hour programs (Mondays for standardbred and Wednesdays for thoroughbred), which airs on WEG’s longtime TV partner, The Score, focuses directly on the wagering component of racing, educating and attracting new fans and customers to the sport.

Each show featured a four-race contest where the evening’s winner gets a chance to play for the grand prize of a trip to Las Vegas and a seat in the $2 million DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC).  Steve Coombs, a 44-year-old Scarborough resident, will be flying out to the NHC in late January, courtesy of the BNL contest. Coombs beat out 163 other championship finalists to win.

In the two-year lifespan of the network programme, the total number of new sign-ups has reached 2,086, with over $5.7 million wagered.

“We’re quite happy with the development of BNL,” said Andrew Macdonald, WEG’s Vice-President of Strategic Initiatives. “We’ve seen a jump in the general interest of Woodbine and Mohawk racing because of the show.
There has been a substantial rise in HorsePlayer Interactive (HPI) account sign-ups, wagering and TV audience numbers.  We’re looking forward to seeing continued growth in 2012.”

The new format is proving to be successful as Bet Night Live’s audience is growing. This season there has been a 30 per cent hike in viewers compared to the 2009 season of Race Night on The Score.

On track, fans also had a chance to win cash in the contest due to generous sponsorship of WEG’s horsepeople partners, the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) on the thoroughbred side and Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA) on the standardbred side.

Starting January 2, Bet Night Live will be hosting its winter contest where HPI members can have a chance to qualify to win $10,000. The last day to qualify will be April 16 with the $10,000 final scheduled for April 23, which is when the winner will be announced.

Bet Night Live’s main 2012 contest will premiere on Monday, April 30.

(WEG)

 

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Bill Porter of Elora, ON Takes Home $25,000 in Handicapping Championship

 

Standardbred Canada has posted the final, official and audited results from the 2011 Trot Canada National Handicapping Championship.

Bill Porter of Elora, ON, took home the $25,000 grand prize cheque in the fifth edition of the Trot Canada National Handicapping Championship presented by Standardbred Canada at The Raceway at the Western Fair District on Saturday night, November 12th.

For Porter, the turning point came in Woodbine’s eighth race when he put his $2 to win and place on #3, Waasmula, a 15-1 shot in the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final for three- year-old pacing fillies.Waasmula and driver Randy Waples got up for the win by a nose over pace-setter and favourite Monkey On My Wheel.

Here’s a summary of Bill’s winning wagers in the contest:
•Georgian Downs – Race 4 – $2 wp # 4 (cashed $10.30)
•Georgian Downs – Race 5 – $2 wp #3 (cashed $3.00)
•Georgian Downs – Race 7 – $2 wp #3 (cashed $14.20)
•Woodbine Racetrack – Race 6 – $2wp #1 (cashed $10.80)
•The Raceway at Western Fair – Race 9- $2 wp #8 (cashed $3.10)
•Woodbine Racetrack – Race 7 – $2 wp # 8 (cashed $12.50)
•Woodbine Racetrack – Race 8 – $2 wp #3 (cashed $38.40)
•Woodbine Racetrack –Race 11 – $2 wp # 5 (cashed $4.30)

Porter’s bankroll of $96.60 was the high total among the 33 finalists representing thousands of fans that took part in over 50 qualifying events across the country, including online challenges and multi-leg events.

Contestants had a $60 bankroll and had to make fifteen $2 win/ place wagers on the evening. Five of those were mandatory wagers on races selected by contest officials and 10 of the races were wagers on optional races selected by each player.

2011 Trot Canada National Handicapping Championship

Final Standings

Rank – Player / Residence – Bankroll

1 – Bill PORTER – Elora, ON – $96.60

2 – Rick THERRIEN – Sudbury, ON – $80.60

3 – Bill SWAINSON – St. Marys, ON – $76.80

4 – Albert CZERNIGA – Hamilton, ON – $74.00

5 – Greg DARNELL – London, ON – $66.70

6 – Chris RUHL – Fergus, ON – $65.60

7 – Ron SADLER, SR. – London, ON – $65.10

8 – Norm GREENFIELD – Brantford, ON – $64.10

9 – Domenic DICICCO – London, ON – $61.20

10 – Fred WILLIAMS – London, ON – $59.20

11 – Corrine LICHTY – Elmira, ON – $57.30

12 – Don SPROXTON – Mississauga, ON – $56.40

13 – Adam GRAHAM – St. Pauls, ON – $55.70

14 – Vicky HART – London, ON – $54.60

15 – Dean MACNEVIN – Charlottetown, ON – $53.50

16 – Conrad PERRY – Clermont, PE – $52.50

17 – Michael MCCOMISH – Brampton, ON – $51.80

18 – Alexia TINDALL – Lucan, ON – $48.40

19 – John RUFFO – Mississauga, ON – $48.20

20 – Gus PSEEKOS – Barrie, ON – $47.70

21 – Percy JONES – Ottawa, ON – $46.60

22 – Steve BOSSENCE – London, ON – $44.80

23 – Barb PARKER – Dorchester, ON – $43.40

24 – Blaine BAGLOLE – Cornwall, ON – $43.30

25 – John KISS – London, ON – $30.70

26 – Jerome STRINGLE – Woodstock, ON – $28.00

27 – Joey AFFLECK – Charlottetown, PE – $24.50

28 – Don RUDDICK – Ingersoll, ON – $23.30

29 – Peter KENT – Burlington, ON – $22.10

30 – Cheryl EVELEIGH – Gilford, ON – $20.60

31 – Susan BERREY – Whitby, ON – $18.80

32 – Bob SMITH – Hamilton, ON – $18.50

33 – Ken KOCH – Kitchener, ON – $18.40

(Standardbred Canada)

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Donald Sproxton Top Handicapper in WEG/COSA Leg of TCNHC

 

COSA would like to congratulate Donald Sproxton of Mississauga, ON on his victory in the recent Woodbine leg of the Trot Canadian National Handicapping Contest.

The Woodbine division of the TCNHC was sponsored by WEG/COSA. We are proud to award Donald a seat at the TCNHC Final at Western Fair District Racetrack on Saturday, November 12th.

He will compete against the other division winners for a Grand Prize of $25,000.

Good Luck, Donald !

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Photo Submissions Welcomed for “Heart of Harness Racing” Calendar, Deadline: Friday, October 21

 

Standardbred Canada’s ‘I Love Canadian Harness Racing’ Fan Club Team is publishing a 2012 calendar on the ‘Heart of Harness Racing’ and it wants you to contribute.

Do you enjoy taking photos of horses and people in harness racing? Are you an amateur or professional photographer or just someone who loves to take photos? Think you have a shot that captures the spirit of Canadian harness racing? If so, the Fan Club Team wants to see it.

The Fan Club Team is looking for unique and interesting images which capture the heart and soul of harness racing. The team is not looking for shots of any specific horse or person, but a shot of any person, horse or scene that illustrates emotion in harness racing.  The photos can be action shots or still shots and they should convey an impactful message and a unique perspective.

The calendar will be given out as a free fan appreciation gift to members of the I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club, and will also be sent out to all SC members along with the December issue of Trot Magazine.

Please email your submission no later than Friday, October 21 to abertucci@standardbredcanada.ca or kwvlaar@standardbredcanada.ca.

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Beth Wallace Earns Ownership Share in SBOA Yearling in Win the Thrill Contest Final at Mohawk

Beth Wallace (Left) receives cheque representing a share in the SBOA New Owner Mentoring Program from SBOA President Anna Meyers. (New Image Photo)

 

Beth Wallace of Dundas, ON was the Grand Prize winner in the OSS Win the Thrill Contest finale on Grassroots Finals night at Mohawk Raceway, Oct. 1st.

A long-time horse lover and patron of Flamboro Downs for over 30 years, Wallace received a partnership share in the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario’s New Owner Mentoring Program. SBOA donated the share, for which the other nine members in the group have each shelled out $4500.

Headed by industry veteran Brian Webster, the group picked out its prospect for next year’s Ontario Sires Stakes at the Canadian yearling Sale, a $22, 000 Badlands Hanover colt now in training with Tony O’Sullivan.

A recent kidney transplant recipient, Wallace was elated by the win and credits her husband Mark with being the catalyst for her to enter the contest.

“It’s always been a dream of ours to own a couple of racehorses when we retired,” she said.

Win the Thrill’s First Runner-up was Corry Price from Centralia, ON. She won dinner for four at the OSS Gold Super Finals at Woodbine on Nov. 12th and one night’s hotel accommodation.

Second Runner-up, Jack Kearney of Scarborough, ON, earned the much-admired framed print by photographer Matt Waples.

Finalists in the Contest had to qualify earlier in the season at a series of OSS events held at: Clinton Raceway, Flamboro Downs Georgian Downs, Grand River Raceway and Hiawatha Horse Park.

Mohawk fans were greeted at the front door by some of WEG’s regular drivers as a special feature of Grassroots Finals night. Scott Coulter, Phil Hudon, Sylvain Filion, Anthony Macdonald and Mark MacDonald handed out OSS promotional items, much to the delight of patrons.

A special area of the Mohawk lower grandstand area was reserved for the Win the Thrill finalists and their supporters who were feted all night with multiple draws and free merchandise.

COSA was one of the many industry organizations that supported the OSS promotion by donating prizes for the contest participants.

COSA President Bill O’Donnell also organized an informal meet-and- greet with some of the drivers involved in the evening’s program.  Scott Coulter, Sylvain Filion, and Mark MacDonald joined Hall of Famers O’Donnell and Ron Waples in mingling with the Win the Thrill contestants and their guests.

 

Scott Coulter jokes with Win the Thrill finalists.

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Standardbred Canada Partners with Canadian Country Music Association

 

 

Terri Clark

Terri Clark will be one of the country music stars performing at FanFest, Sept. 10 in Hamilton.

In a move that will delight the legions of horsepeople who love country music, Standardbred Canada has formed a promotional partnership with the Canadian Country Music Association.

This year’s Canadian Country Music Awards will take place in Hamilton, ON on Monday, September 12, right on the heels of the Canadian Yearling Sale at Flamboro Downs on Sept 10-11th. Standardbred Canada will be offering CCMA Awards Night ticket giveaways to attendees at the Yearling Sale and in other promotions in the preceding weeks.

The ‘I Love Canadian Harness Racing’ Fan Club Team will take part in the CCMA’s FanFest event on Saturday, September 10 from 11:00 a. m. to 3:00 p. m. on the roof of the Jackson Square mall in downtown Hamilton. The team will provide information, giveaways and conduct a meet and greet with a standardbred star.

This free event will feature performances from some of Canada’s top country artists, as well as autographs and photo opportunities with the stars themselves. Those scheduled for rooftop performances are: Gord Bamford, Victoria Banks, Jason Blaine, Dean Brody, Chad Brownlee, George Canyon, Terri Clark, Doc Walker, High Valley, Charlie Major, One More Girl, Tara Oram, Aaron Pritchett, Deric Ruttan and Michelle Wright.

“Country music and horses are a natural fit and we feel there’s a lot of crossover between fans of country music and fans of horse racing,” said John Gallinger, president and chief executive officer of SC. “We’re excited about taking part in FanFest and exposing a new audience to the excitement of harness racing. This is a win-win arrangement for both groups and we look forward to a long term relationship with the CCMA as they host their signature event in different locations across the country. ”

“We are definitely looking forward to adding another family-friendly aspect to our Country Music Week events,” said Don Green, executive director of the Canadian Country Music Association. “Country music is all about bringing people together and this partnership has created a unique opportunity for us to do just that. ”

The Canadian Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from Copps Coliseum on Monday, September 12 and is the highlight of Country Music Week. This annual celebration brings together industry and fans alike for four days of educational seminars, valuable networking opportunities and most importantly non-stop music.

For information on the CCMA, click here. For more information on the Canadian Yearling Sale, click here. And if you aren’t already a member of the I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club, click here and you could win tickets to the star-studded CCMA Awards Night.

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