Thoroughbred — Chapter 19: Racing Secretary and Handicapper

Last Updated: 
2018-11-30

See also Chapter 6: Entries and Subscriptions, Chapter 7: Declarations and Scratches, Chapter 8: Weights

19.01.01  The Racing Secretary shall maintain all ownership records in accordance with the Rules and the Directives of the Registrar.

19.01.02  All ownerships in a horse, except a trainer’s percentage of its winnings, shall be filed with the Racing Secretary, before the horse shall start, as also shall every subsequent change in ownership during the meeting.

19.01.03  The holder of a claim, including, but not limited to, a mortgage, bill of sale, lien or security interest of any kind against a horse entitling the holder thereof to a share in the horse’s earnings, shall file notice of same and the terms thereof with the racing secretary within 10 days of the claim’s coming into existence and in any event before the horse is entered. Failure of claimant to do so shall disentitle him to any share in the earnings of the horse until such time as notice is filed as aforesaid. The claimant shall be entitled to earnings of the horse subject to a claim only after filing in accordance with this rule.

19.02.01  The Racing Secretary shall receive all entries, scratches and declarations, and keep a complete record of all races, and keep him/herself informed of all names appearing on the Veterinarians’, Stewards’ and starters’ lists.

19.02.02  The Racing Secretary shall each morning, as soon as the entries have been closed and compiled, and the scratches and declarations have been made, post in a conspicuous place in their office a list of the entries, scratches and declarations.

19.03  The Racing Secretary shall compile the official program which shall contain the following information; the date, the number of the day of the meeting, the name of the Association and the officers and officials of the meeting, the order in which the races are to be run, the amount of each purse, the conditions and distance of each race, the post position number, name, age, colour, sex, breeding and assigned weight or any change in equipment of each horse, the name of each jockey and trainer, the name under which each owner is licensed to race and their racing colours. The program may contain other pertinent data.

19.03.01  All condition books, programs and other publications of a racing association dealing with a race meeting shall have displayed in a prominent place the following words:
    This race meeting is being conducted with the approval of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and the Rules of Racing of the Commission apply to the conduct of all races and the racing association conducting this meeting has been licensed by the Commission.

19.04  Owners entering horses that have campaigned in countries other than Canada and the United States of America shall, at the time of entry, deliver to the racing secretary a record of all past performances of such horses in races wherever run in the current and previous year for dissemination to the press and the public. Provided, however, that if the owner is not in Ontario, the trainer of such horses shall be obliged to comply with this rule. Otherwise, the entry of such horses shall not be accepted without the permission of the Registrar.

19.05  The handicapper, who may be the racing secretary, shall be appointed by the Association and they shall:

  1. Assign the weights to be carried by each horse in a handicap;
  2. Append to the weights for every handicap the day and hour after which races won will make winners liable to weight penalties;
  3. If there are no penalties, append that fact to the weights;
  4. In case of omission, through error, of the name or weight of a horse duly entered, rectify the omission.