from the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Toronto, ON — 2013 marks a year of change for the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. In an effort to ensure that all horses and people who have made a significant impact on racing in Canada can be honored by the hall, eligibility criteria have been updated, and two new categories are being introduced.

Now all those, both equine and human, regardless of whether they have Canadian connections, but have either raced in Canada or made a significant contribution to the betterment of racing in Canada, can be nominated and in turn elected to the CHRHF.

The hall is also expanding the number of categories available for entry into the hall from five to seven. Veteran People will recognize those whose careers and impact on racing took place a minimum of 20 years ago. The Communicator category provides the opportunity to recognize those, either living or deceased, who have told the story of horse racing in Canada. This category will honor broadcasters, announcers, writers, photographers, etc.

These two categories will be added on a rotational basis along with the existing Veteran Horses category.

In 2013 both Veteran Horses and Communicators will be honored as well as the existing categories of Male Horse, Female Horse, Builder, and People — Jockeys/Drivers/Trainers.

Kathy Wade Vlaar, Chair of the Standardbred Election Committee, and Director of the CHRHF, explained the changes as follows: “The Board of Directors felt that our previous eligibility criteria may have excluded horses because of where they were bred and where their owners reside, and horse people because of their citizenship or place of residency. In revising the eligibility criteria, we wanted to ensure that there is an opportunity, when warranted and deserved, that all horses and horse people that have made outstanding contributions to Canadian horse racing are eligible for induction, regardless of where they are from.”

Jim Bannon and Tom Cosgrove, Co-Chairs of the Thoroughbred Nomination and Election Committees, applaud the changes. “Canadian Horse Racing will benefit greatly from the Hall’s new and more embracing eligibility initiative which welcomes those horses and people who have significantly enriched the fabric of the sport in our country.”

The new criteria take effect immediately with the 2013 call for public nominations being accepted until Wednesday (March 6).

All nominations for inductees from both the Standardbred and Thoroughbred industries will be considered by the Nomination Committees as selected by the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Board of Directors. For complete eligibility information and nomination process click here.

All public nominations are to be sent as a formal letter containing detailed information on the record and merits of each nominee along with the nominator’s contact information.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday (March 6) and nominations can be mailed, hand delivered, or e-mailed to: Chair of the Nominating Committee, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, 555 Rexdale Blvd., P.O. Box 156. Toronto, ON M9W 5L2; e-mail admin@horseracinghalloffame.com.

The final list of the 2013 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Inductees will be announced on Tuesday (April 9).

For questions regarding Standardbred Nominations, contact Kathy Wade Vlaar (905.858.3060, ext. 207) or Darryl Kaplan at ext. 241.
For questions regarding Thoroughbred Nominations, call 416.675.3993, ext. 2113 for Tom Cosgrove or ext. 2454 for Jim Bannon.

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame is a not for profit organization dedicated to honoring the achievements of horses and people in the great sport of Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing in Canada.

Visitors to the Hall of Fame will enjoy learning about the legendary horses whose names are synonymous with today’s racing champions while discovering the stories of the legends of Canadian horse racing placed among rarely seen memorabilia and historic trophies.

We invite you to visit the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame located at the West Entrance of Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. For information on arranging a personal tour and/or an interview contact the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame by e-mail admin@horseracinghalloffame.com or call 416.417.9404.