by Kathy Wade Vlaar, manager of industry marketing, Standardbred Canada

Mississauga, ON — With C$400,000 in purse money up for grabs and a flurry of 18-horse fields, X-treme Horsepower promises to be like no event in harness racing history.

Standardbred Canada, in co-operation with Georgian Downs and the Ontario Harness Horse Association, is pleased to release the confirmed condition sheet for X-treme Horsepower, scheduled for Saturday, July 14, at Georgian Downs, detailing race distances, field sizes and purses.

A special post time of 5:00 p.m. has been set for the Innisfil, Ontario track.

“The condition sheet represents a great deal of work and collaboration on the part of Standardbred Canada, Georgian Downs and OHHA,” commented Kathy Wade Vlaar, Manager of Industry Marketing for SC. “It’s been a work in progress and I think all three parties are very pleased and excited about the races that will be carded.”

X-treme Horsepower will be the richest event in the history of Georgian Downs. The innovative card includes an eighth-of-a-mile dash which will be called the X-treme Sprint. The longest race will be a five lap (three and one-eighth miles) event called the X-treme Ironman. An invitational match race featuring two top ranked equine stars will also be carded, along with an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

In total, five of the 11 scheduled races will feature 18 horse fields, in two tiers, behind the starting gate. In those races, the top five finishers will receive the standard purse splits with the sixth to 10th place finishers receiving C$500 and all remaining starters receiving C$200. All horses that take part in X-treme Horsepower will receive a hitching fee.

“We have had great co-operation and support from area horse people in finalizing the conditions for this great event. I can tell you that Georgian Downs is excited and proud to make X-treme Horsepower the cornerstone of our summer racing calendar,” reported Chris Roberts, Director of Operations at Georgian Downs. “We are looking forward to working with the industry to ensure that this event is executed as smoothly as possible.

“Preparation for many of these races is key to the success of the event and critical for horse people. We wanted to ensure that the condition sheet was finalized with lots of lead time.”

In the coming weeks, Standardbred Canada and Georgian Downs will release details of a creative entertainment and marketing package that will compliment the racing card.

For a look at the condition sheet for X-treme Horsepower, click here.