Ontario Racing Thoroughbred Improvement Program called a success

Representatives for Ontario Racing’s Thoroughbred Improvement Program, which aims to increase the quality and value of Ontario-bred racehorses, say they are “extremely pleased” with the results of two incentive programs designed to bring mares and foals to the province.

Ontario’s mare recruitment program has been fully subscribed for the 2019-2020 season. Under this program, breeders can receive a $5,000 bonus (all funds Canadian) for a mare brought to Ontario to foal. Those mares also are eligible for the $2,500 bonus if bred back to an Ontario sire, with the program holding a $500,000 cap in total incentives.

Ontario Racing reported that through Jan. 14 paperwork for a total of 79 mares in foal had been submitted, with 42 to be bred back to an Ontario sire.

Meanwhile, a total of 17 submissions have been received for the related mare purchase program, for which opportunities still exist at upcoming major-market mixed auctions at Fasig-Tipton and the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. Ontario residents purchasing an in-foal mare at mixed auctions are eligible to receive as much as 50 percent of the purchase price, as much as $15,000, for each mare purchased. For any of the mares bred back to a registered Ontario sire in 2020, the buyer is eligible for an additional $2,500 payout, an incentive that applies to seven of the current purchases.

“Ontario Racing is extremely pleased with the success of the mare recruitment program and the mare purchase program,” said owner and breeder David Anderson, an Ontario Racing board member. “All sectors of the province’s racing and breeding industry, through the Thoroughbred Horse Improvement Program, have worked collaboratively in creating these impactful investment concepts, which have been met with significant enthusiasm by the marketplace.”

:: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales