STANDARDBRED HORSE OWNERS PANEL of ONTARIO (SHOP ONTARIO)

June 26th, 2007 The formation and formal incorporation of an organization of standardbred race horse owners in Ontario to be known as the Standardbred Horse Owners’ Panel (SHOP Ontario) has been finalized .  SHOP Ontario plans to provide a strong representation of the interests of standardbred owners in promoting and maintaining the highest standards of integrity in standardbred racing in Ontario, at all times.

An initial group of approximately fifty active owners have agreed to be founding members of SHOP Ontario.  SHOP Ontario has been incorporated as a legal not for profit corporation and will be governed by a Board of Directors of nine individuals.  The first Chairman of SHOP Ontario is Mr. Tom Brodhurst and the Executive Director is Mr. Scott Rowe.

Mr. Brodhurst commented “I’m pleased to try and provide leadership to this new organization dedicated to emphasizing complete honesty in our industry and most particularly the elimination of any use of non therapeutic drugs or chemicals within standardbred racing.  I believe owners need to speak out with a strong unified voice and actively support complete integrity in our racing here in Ontario.  The formation of SHOP Ontario demonstrates that owners want high standards of integrity in our industry.”

SHOP Ontario will support efforts of all parties involved in the standardbred industry to strengthen all regulations to enforce honest participation in standardbred racing and protect public confidence in our racing product.  In this regard, SHOP Ontario plans to petition the industry regulators to institute clear and strong Owner Responsibility Regulations which will include suspensions and significant financial penalties directed at owners of horses testing positive for major drug violations.    

Mr. Rowe, as Executive Director, will handle the day to day affairs of SHOP Ontario.  Initially, Mr. Rowe’s tasks will emphasize the broadening and growth of membership in the organization.  Mr. Rowe states “From everything we’ve seen in recent months, we expect we can quickly grow our membership as many owners have expressed a desire to actively support our objectives.”

For further information on membership contact Scott Rowe, P.O. Box 1121, 4510 County Road 27 S., Cookstown, Ontario, L0L1L0, telephone number 705 458-9012 or by email at: jsrowe@candlelight.ca.