New for 2026, the Bet Ontario Handicapping Contest is an on-track, in-person wagering contest featuring total prizes of $10,000.
The contest, brought to you by Ontario Racing, HPIbet and the Central Ontario Standardbred Association, will feature six legs and a championship event conducted between May 29 and Oct. 10 at four Ontario Standardbred racetracks.
At each leg, participants will sign up, in person, and exchange $100 for a tournament-specific HPIbet wagering card. That card will be used to wager on the host track's races only. Participants keep all winnings. At the end of the card of racing, the top three participants ranked by total winnings, most to least, will receive the following prizes:
1st place - $500
2nd plce - $300
3rd place - $200
The top three handicappers at each leg, plus the top 10 overall counting all the events combined (in addition to those that already finished in the top three at one or more of the legs), will qualify to participate in the Bet Ontario Handicapping Contest championship night ($100 entry fee does apply for the championship event), where the prizes will be as follows:
1st place - $2,000
2nd place - $1,000
3rd place - $500
4th place - $300
5th place - $200
Please see official rules below.
TOURNAMENT DATES
Legs
Friday, May 29 - The Raceway at Western Fair District on Camluck Classic night
Saturday, June 13 - Woodbine Mohawk Park on Pepsi North America Cup night
Sunday, July 26 - Clinton Raceway on Legends Day / National Driving Championship
Monday, Aug. 3 - Grand River Raceway on Industry Day / Battle of Waterloo and Battle of the Belles
Saturday, Sept. 26 - Woodbine Mohawk Park for Mohawk Million / Metro Pace
Saturday, Oct. 3 - Woodbine Mohawk Park for Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Championship
Championship
Saturday, Oct. 10 - Woodbine Mohawk Park for Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals
OFFICIAL RULES
The 2026 Ontario Racing Handicapping contests are comprised of a series of individual handicapping contests taking place at selected Ontario racetracks (each, a “Host Track”). The individual contests will run on the following dates at the following Ontario Host Tracks: Friday May 29 at Western Fair; June 13 at Woodbine Mohawk Park; July 26 at Clinton Raceway; August 3 at Grand River Raceway; September 26, October 3 and October 10 at Woodbine Mohawk Park (October 10 is Championship Night). Wagering will commence upon the start of racing at each respective Host Track and will continue until the completion of the card of racing each on each date (the “Contest Period”). The Contest is sponsored by Ontario Racing (the “Sponsor”).
1. PLAYER'S BANKROLL: The 2026 Ontario Racing Handicapping Contests (the “Contests” and individually, a “Contest”) are "real money" handicapping challenges. For each individual Contest, contestants will be required to deposit $100 CAD, of which $100 will be the contestant’s bankroll (the “Bankroll”) for wagering during the applicable Contest. At the conclusion of the Contest, any dollar amount remaining in the Bankroll — whether it grows or falls to $0 — remains the property of the contestant.
2. TO ENTER: The Contests will be conducted live onsite at the applicable Host Track. Participants can register for any Contest online at www.hpibet.com or onsite up to one hour before the start of racing for each respective Contest. Participation in the Contests is restricted to residents of Canada.
3. FORMAT: Contest races will include ALL live races of the Host Track on the applicable Contest date for each respective Contest. The Contest will end with the last race on the card. All wager types are permitted. To avoid disqualification, contestants must wager only on the races conducted at the Host Track on the Contest date. Contestants may reinvest monies earned from winning wagers.
Only wagers on the Host Track races will qualify for the applicable Contest. There are no caps on payouts. The contestant with the highest score (which is calculated by taking the contestant’s total Bankroll) after the final Contest race on each respective Contest date is the First Prize winner of the Contest. If there is a tie between contestants, see Section 8 below.
No deposits are permitted after the initial Bankroll has been deposited by the contestant. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in disqualification of the contestant from the Contest.
At the conclusion of the Contest, contestants will be notified of their Contest balance. The tote system will track each contestant's Contest balance. When a wager is made, the amount is automatically deducted from the contestant's Contest balance. When a bet wins, the payout amount is added to the Contest balance when the race results have been declared official.
The prize winners will be determined by Contest balance at the conclusion of the Contest, ranked from highest to lowest.
4. PRIZES:
For each of the Contests except Championship Night (October 10, 2026), the prize pool will be as follows:
1st - $500
2nd - $300
3rd - $200
For the Contest conducted on Championship Night (October 10, 2026), the prize pool will be as follows:
1st - $2,000
2nd - $1,000
3rd - $500
4th - $300
5th - $200
Prizes will be awarded as HPIbet account deposits. In the event a winning contestant does not have an HPIbet account, the prize funds will be deposited to a cash card and presented to the winning contestant by a member of Ontario Racing.
5. PLACING WAGERS: Participants will place wagers through their assigned Contest account as directed by the Sponsor. Each Contest is bet live through the tote system, and all bets are subject to the rules of the applicable Host Track. All bets and payouts are real and placed into the appropriate pari‐mutuel wagering pools.
All official track rulings will apply to wagers placed in the Contest except as otherwise stipulated. The Contest will be based on the official placement and mutuel prices at the Host Track.
It is the contestant’s responsibility to check all mutuel wagers/tickets.
6. SCRATCHES: If a horse is scratched after a wager is placed, the contestant has two options:
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Leave the wager alone and the refund(s) that occur due to the scratch will be credited as placed wagers for the purpose of scoring the Contest.
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Cancel wagers involving the associated scratched horse(s) and re‐bet. In this case, canceled wagers will not count, and new wagers will count towards the Contest.
7. TIES: In the result of a tie for placing in a Contest, the player with the most money earned in the applicable Contest will be declared the winner of that Contest. If there is still a tie, the most money earned in the second to last race on the applicable Contest date will determine the winner. If there is still a tie, the most money earned in the third to last race on the applicable Contest date will determine the winner, and similarly for each race thereafter until there is no longer a tie.
8. CONTEST STANDINGS: The Sponsor will provide a leaderboard onsite as well as shown through the simulcast feed. Issues related to late scratches or other matters could either (i) delay the posting of those scores, or (ii) cause inaccurate scores to be posted. All standings are unofficial until the final results are audited and posted. Contestants are encouraged to maintain an accurate record of their wagers and scoring.
9. AGE INELIGIBILITY / DISCLOSURE: Players must be at least 18 years of age to participate in any Contest. The following are ineligible to participate in this Contest: (i) licensed trainers, and (ii) employees of Host Track(s), Ontario Racing, Woodbine Entertainment Group and/or AmTote.
10. TAXES: Liability for any and all federal, provincial and local taxes is solely the responsibility of prize winners.
11. Receiving Prizes: Positive identification is required of all prizewinners. Positive identification is a valid government issued ID with a picture and the same address and birth date used on the entry forms, and/or such other form of identification as deemed adequate by the Sponsor. Contestants shall play a maximum of two entries.
Collusion of entries between contestants is prohibited, as is any attempt to manipulate the results of any Contest. All contestants must make their own final selections independently of every other contestant in each Contest. Participants in the Contests are prohibited from coordinating their play with other contestants, such as (1) sharing the risk of losing amongst different entries of different contestants, or (2) playing the same picks across entries amongst different contestants and coordinating wagers across different contestants. If the Sponsor determines, in its sole discretion, that collusion has occurred, the participating contestant(s) will be disqualified. If the Sponsor concludes, in its sole discretion, that (1) a contestant engaged in or attempted to engage in any act that compromised or could compromise the competitive integrity of the applicable Contest; (2) tampered with or attempted to tamper with the betting process and/or operation of the applicable Contest or any contestant; or (3) acted in an unsportsmanlike manner or with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, coerce or harass any other contestant, then such contestant(s) will be disqualified.
Players with multiple entries are permitted to play the entries in their own names in any way they wish in respect to each of their entries provided that these Official Rules are complied with at all times.
12. GENERAL. Any contestant who is found to have not complied with these Official Rules, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, will be disqualified and all applicable prizes will be forfeited. All contestants agree to have their name or image appear in any publicity material (posters, newsletters, programs, etc.) and to be printed in any publication. The Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, withdraw or modify any Contest, or the Contest series, at any time without prior notice. If a tote system malfunction occurs during a Contest which could affect the conduct or outcome of that Contest (as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion), such Contest will be terminated.
Neither the Sponsor nor Amtote is responsible for shut outs or incomplete transactions. No exceptions under any circumstances.
Each Contest is subject to all applicable Federal, Provincial, municipal and local laws and regulations. By entering a Contest, contestants agree to the use by Ontario Racing of their personal information for the purpose of administering the Contests and in accordance with Ontario Racing’s Privacy Policy, available at www.ontarioracing.com.
By participating in any Contest, contestants agree to abide by these Official Rules.
13. JUDGING AND DISPUTES. The Sponsor reserves the right to interpret all questions and conditions in regard to the Contest series and each Contest, without being subject to claims for damages or recourse of any kind. The Sponsor will decide all questions covered and/or not covered explicitly in these Official Rules and its decisions shall be final. By participating in any Contest, all contestants agree to the Sponsor’s authority to make any and all such decisions.