Race Day FAQs

Yes!  All Ontario tracks are family friendly.  Many tracks offer children’s activities and special family events.  Please note, you must be 19 years of age or older to enter the OLG Slots area and you must be over the age of 18 to place a wager.
 

In Ontario, there are three horse racing breeds – Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Quarter Horse.

Ajax Downs is the only track to host Quarter Horse racing.

Thoroughbred racing is held at Fort Erie Race Track and Woodbine Racetrack.

All other tracks in the province host Standardbred (Harness) racing.

Most tracks feature an average of 10 races on a card per race date.

Generally a racing program costs $2.50-3.00.  This may vary due to race event and type of race program.
 

Yes, all Ontario racetracks are licensed.  You must be 19 years of age to be served alcoholic beverages.

Yes – visitors are welcome to take photographs and use camcorders in the general public racetrack areas.  Please refrain from using a flash near the horses.  Taking pictures of customers is not permitted.

Jockeys ride thoroughbred horses on a saddle, while drivers sit in a sulky behind the standardbred horse. Unlike jockeys, harness drivers have no restrictions placed on them in terms of their weight. However, most successful drivers maintain their weight and stay in good physical shape. It takes a good deal of strength to guide a horse whether it be in the saddle or in the sulky.  Jockeys are of small stature and must maintain a certain weight.

Horses racing have weight limits assigned to them by the racing officials and the jockeys and their equipment must meet these limits. For example, the Kentucky Derby’s weight limit is 126 pounds (121 for fillies) so the jockey and his/her equipment (saddle, crop, helmet, boots, etc.) must not exceed that.
 
Harness racing drivers select the colours for the uniform they wear when they compete. Drivers must register their choice of colours with the proper authorities and their ‘colours’ are printed in the race program. Usually the driver’s name and/or initials appear somewhere on their colours.
 
Some families maintain a certain colour hue but with slight variations in pattern. Examples of this are the Waples family (usually blues and yellows/gold), Gregg and Doug McNair (maroon, black and white), Herve, Sylvain and Yves Filion (blue, white, red), etc.
 
Jockeys do not select their own colours. Usually referred to as ‘silks’, their uniform reflects either the owner or stable of the horse they are riding. The owners register their colours and patterns with the relevant registries.

Quarter Horse racing is featured at Ajax Downs in Ajax, Ontario.
Thoroughbred racing takes place at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto and Fort Erie Racetrack in Fort Erie.
Standardbred (sometimes known as harness) racing may be enjoyed at a number of tracks throughout the province as follows:

• Clinton, Ontario - Clinton Raceway
• Dresden, Ontario - Dresden Raceway
• Dundas, Ontario – Flamboro Downs
• Elora, Ontario - Grand River Raceway
• Hanover, Ontario - Hanover Raceway
• Innisfil, Ontario – Georgian Downs
• Leamington, Ontario - Leamington Raceway
• London, Ontario – The Raceway At Western Fair District
• Milton, Ontario – Mohawk Racetrack
• Ottawa, Ontario - Rideau Carleton Raceway
• Peterborough, Ontario – Kawartha Downs
• Sarnia, Ontario - Hiawatha Horse Park
• Toronto, Ontario – Woodbine Racetrack

Horses race fastest on a straightaway which is one of the reasons why Quarter Horse racing is so swift as the majority of their races do not have turns. The more turns the horses have to negotiate, the slower the race. Half-mile tracks require the horses to race through four turns making it the slowest of the tracks. The advantage to a half-mile track however, is that because of its configuration, it allows fans a better view of the entire race.

Quarter Horses are related closely to Thoroughbreds but tend to be a fairly blocky, sturdy and more muscular horse while a Thoroughbred is more refined. Quarter Horses quite often are used in rodeos and in Western events. A Standardbred horse falls in between the two. They are not as refined as Thoroughbreds but not as blocky as a quarter horse.
 
In terms of colours, Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds are primarily bay (light brown), brown, black, chestnut (various shades of red), grey (also called roan).
 
Quarter Horses have 17 recognized colours which include some of the ones noted above and several others. 
 
 

In Quarter Horse racing and Thoroughbred racing the horses are ridden by a jockey (sometimes called a rider). In harness racing the horses are steered by a driver who sits behind the horse in a special bike called a sulky.

Quarter Horse racing is done in sprints and the name of the breed comes from the Quarter Horse's ability to cover a quarter mile distance very quickly. They are the fastest of all racehorses for a short period and are sometimes referred to as the dragsters of horse racing. Thoroughbred racing is measured in furlongs that are an eighth of a mile. The most common race distances range from six to nine furlongs.

Standardbred Horse racing primarily is conducted over a one-mile course. Some tracks will stage sprint racing (a quarter or half mile) or longer distances (a mile and a half) to show a different perspective to fans. Standardbred horses race in two gaits, pacing (where the legs on the same side of the body move together and is the more dominant gait) and trotting (where the opposite legs – right front and left rear and left front and right rear – move together).
 
Another type of Standardbred racing introduced in recent years in Ontario is called Racing Under Saddle, also known as RUS. These are races in which trotters are ridden in races rather than driven. In April of 2014 the Ontario Racing Commission approved rules which allow RUS races to be featured as pari-mutuel betting events rather than demonstrations. A full story explaining the history of RUS racing in Ontario may be found here.

Many racehorses enjoy very productive careers once they have been retired from racing. Many go on to produce the next generation of potential racehorses. Female horses may become broodmares and produce baby horses called foals in the winter. A horse’s gestation period is approximately 11 months. The very best male competitors in terms of racing ability or pedigree are in demand as stallions, also called sires.
 
A number of horses, primarily Standardbreds, are used by the Amish and/or Mennonites and in some cases provide their only method of transportation. Many others are used as riding horses in a variety of disciplines – hunter/ jumper, eventing, dressage, barrel racing, pleasure driving. Retired horses are also selected for programs like therapeutic horseback riding, designed to assist people of all ages with disabilities.