Policy Directive No. 2-2010: Standardbred Racetrack Surfaces Minimum Standards

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The Ontario Racing Commission at its meeting of Thursday, January 28, 2009, resolved that the following directive, effective immediately, replaces General Directive 2 – 2007 governing the Commission’s policy on minimum standards for Standardbred racetrack surfaces, and supersedes all prior Commission directives pertaining to minimum standards for Standardbred racetrack surfaces:

Minimum Standards Program

Standardbred Racetrack Surfaces

The objective of these standards is to improve the overall conditions of the racing surface, making it safer for horses and horsepeople.

  1. Staff
    Each racetrack will dedicate a minimum of two staff for the sole purpose of maintaining the racing surface during live racing events.
  2. Track Grading
    All racetracks will fully grade the racing surface at least two weeks prior to the commencement of the racing season. In addition to this, racetracks that race 55 days or fewer will fully grade the race surface every 30 days or as necessary.
  3. Material
    An adequate supply of surface material must be available throughout the racing season. The minimum standard racetrack surface cushion is to be ½ to 1 inch. The cushion measurement will be from the bottom of a jogging horse toe imprint to the top of the track material.
  4. Conditioning
    After every race, weather permitting, maintenance staff must groom the racetrack surface. Grooming will include one or more of the following tasks: watering, screening, harrowing or conditioning.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Ontario Racing Commission

The ORC will oversee the implementation of the proposed standards. The ORC will also schedule annual meetings of horse people and racetrack maintenance staff and support open communication on track issues and general exchange of ideas between the parties.

Racetrack Operators

  1. Racetrack Operators will ensure that the minimum standards are maintained. In addition, each racetrack will have available upon request of the ORC Judges or other delegated official reports on the daily maintenance of the track racing surface.
  2. Racetrack Operators will make available to the ORC Judges or other delegated officials daily log books which contain the following:
    1. Daily maintenance of track racing surface
    2. Staffing schedules
    3. Dates and times that the racing surface was groomed
    4. Employee assigned to conduct work
    5. Amount of water utilized
    6. Amount of aggregate material utilized, and
    7. Weather conditions.
  3. Racetrack Operators will provide equipment and maintenance logs to the ORC Judges or other delegated official at their request.

Horsepeople

Prior to a race card, a horseperson from the Track Committee will communicate with the ORC Judges and Racetrack Maintenance Supervisor regarding the current conditions of the racing surface.

Failure to Comply

Failure to meet the standards laid out in this Directive may result in fines or suspensions or both.

Racetrack Maintenance Plans

Racetrack operators will be required to incorporate these standards into their Racetrack Maintenance Plans and submit a copy of the revised Plan in the next racetrack licensing cycle.