Chapter 11: Horses Permitted to Race

11.01.01    A horse shall not be permitted to enter or start unless:

1. It is duly registered with and approved by the registry office of Standardbred Canada or United States Trotting Association (USTA), subject to requirements under 11.01.02. Notwithstanding that a horse is registered with the USTA, any horse registered with the USTA that would not meet the registry requirements set out by Standardbred Canada shall not be eligible to race.

11.01.02    A horse shall not be eligible to be declared in to race at any raceway unless:

1. The eligibility fee, which shall become due and payable when a horse makes its first start in any type of race in a calendar year, has been paid to Standardbred Canada, if Canadian owned, or, the lifetime eligibility fee has been paid to the United States Trotting Association, if American owned. The eligibility fee for a horse owned in partnership by a Canadian and an American, shall be payable to either Standardbred Canada or the United States Trotting Association;
2. If wholly Canadian owned, the horse has been registered in the current ownership with Standardbred Canada;
3. If leased, a copy of the lease is on file with, and is acceptable to Standardbred Canada. The horse must race in the name of the lessee;
4. For overnight races, the horse has qualified at an extended meeting in accordance with the Rules, including Chapter 12 where applicable, prior to the time of closing of declarations in accordance with the qualifying standards of the track presenting the race;
5. For added money events, the horse has qualified at an extended meeting in accordance with the Rules, including Chapter 12 where applicable, prior to the time of closing of declarations and in accordance with Rule 11.02.01 and 11.02.02;
6. Not more than 60 clear days prior to the time of closing of declarations, the horse was credited with a clean charted past performance line obtained in a purse, qualifying or schooling race conducted at an extended meeting.
7. The horse is at least two years of age to race at any meeting but not older than 14 years of age;
8. The horse has not been denerved permanently or temporarily desensitized by any method above its pastern. For the purposes of this rule a horse that has been denerved, blocked with alcohol or any other drug or medicament or procedure that totally desensitizes the volar or plantar nerves, will be deemed to have been denerved. The decision at any given time whether the horse has been denerved shall be the Commission Veterinarian’s or the Official Veterinarian’s.
   1. Horses that have been denerved prior to March 2, 2020, will be eligible to race provided the horse was previously on the Commission’s list of denerved horses.  No new horses will be added to the Commission’s list of denerved horses. 
   2. The Commission shall post a list of all denerved horses.
9. If a mare has been spayed or a horse has been gelded, Standardbred Canada has been notified in writing by the owner, trainer or veterinarian;
10. The horse does not have a tube in its throat;
11. The horse has at least partial vision;
12. The horse has been lip tattooed or freeze branded in accordance with the constitution and by-laws and regulations of Standardbred Canada.

11.02.01     If a horse meets the conditions of Rule 11.01.01 and 11.01.02 it will be considered qualified and eligible to be declared to added money event races provided that one of its last three charted lines is a clean line in a purse, qualifying or schooling race, not more than sixty (60) clear days before the closing of declarations and its individual time in that clean charted line meets the following standards for age and the size of the track where it raced or qualified after the Judges have given appropriate allowances for track conditions

Where an added money event is to be conducted for three year olds during the period December 1 through April 30, the qualifying times in effect at the track will apply.

FOUR YEAR OLDS AND UP:

Qualifying times in effect at a track where an added money event is conducted shall apply to the following:

1. a)    Events for four year olds and up; and
2. b)    Events where two and/or three year olds are eligible to compete against horses four years old and up.

11.02.02  Notwithstanding the provisions of 11.02.01 no horse shall be considered qualified and eligible to be declared to added money event races if that horse, since having obtained the clean charted line referred to in 11.02.01, is required to qualify in accordance with the Rules, including Chapter 12 where applicable, or is on the Judges List or is otherwise ineligible to race.

11.03  Notwithstanding Rules 11.01.01, 11.01.02 and 11.02.01, if a horse participates in a race or event after having been declared into a subsequent race or event it shall be ruled ineligible to the subsequent race or event and scratched if its performance in the initial race or event makes it ineligible under the Rules. If the race or event from which the horse is scratched is an added money event, any starting fee paid or payable shall be forfeited.

11.04  Any participant who declares, or causes to be declared, an ineligible horse to start shall be in violation of the Rules and subject to disciplinary action by the Judges. If after declarations close, and prior to the race, the Judges become aware that an ineligible horse has been declared, they shall immediately scratch the horse and starting fees, if applicable, shall be forfeited.

11.05  If the ownership of a horse changes, such horse may start under the new ownership not more than once without reasonable evidence being given to the Judges that the registration certificate has been forwarded to Standardbred Canada or the United States Trotting Association.

11.06  Any participant skipping or omitting transfers of ownership of any horse shall be in violation of the Rules.

11.07

1. Deleted.
2. Deleted.
3. Deleted.

11.08  Horses not under lease must race in the name of the bona fide owner.

11.09  For the purposes of eligibility to race at extended meetings, past performance lines charted at non-extended meetings in Ontario shall not be considered other than for the purpose of crediting the horses with the number of starts, wins and purse money earned at non-extended meetings.

11.10.01  Deleted.

11.10.02  Deleted.

11.10.03  Deleted.