Toronto, ON –  Over the next three years, Ontario’s Thoroughbred industry will increasingly get a bigger cut of the $25 million provincial pie that funds such programs as standardbred racing’ s Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS), but Standardbred Breeders of Ontario President Walter Parkinson said the change in splits on the Horse Improvement Program (HIP) is simply a return to what the distribution historically has been, according to a Dave Briggs story in Sunday’s (Dec. 16) Harness Racing Update.

HIP splits are determined by wagering, and betting on Thoroughbred racing is higher in the province where the runners hold a roughly 55/45 advantage.

“I definitely think it is representative of where the industry is at and it was representative of where it was,” Parkinson said. “Prior to the ending of SARP there was a 55-45 (HIP) split on the betting dollar. That was always the traditional way, there’s really no background as to why it got switched post-SARP (to 50/50), so now it has been felt – and I agree with it – that it does need to go back to the actual split, the 55-45, which is representative of the betting here in Ontario…I think it’s the fair way to allocate the money and the reasonable way, as well.”

Parkinson added that the change will also be phased in over three years to cushion the blow on Standardbred breeders.

The complete story, “Thoroughbreds to get a bigger piece of Ontario’s pie,” is in Sunday’s HRU.