Blog Post

Ontario-Sired Performers On Fire

OSAS • Sep 20, 2019

September 20, 2019 - One of the more under reported stories this racing season is the incredible success of colts and fillies by Ontario sires.

Forbidden Trade, a son of Ontario stalwart and perennial leading sire Kadabra, captured the most prestigious trotting race on the calendar, the Hambletonian, last month.

The highest earning horse to date this year in North America (according to USTA stats) is Bettors Wish with $1.1 million banked to date. His sire, Bettors Delight, stands at the Ontario branch of Winbak Farms. Bettors Wish was a close second in Canada’s richest harness racing, the North America Cup and is yet to finish worse than second this year with nine wins and four seconds in 13 attempts.

One of the most anticipated weeks of racing is Jug week culminating with the Little Brown Jug which was contested yesterday. The Bettors Delight son Fast N Furious won a division of the first heat and finished a strong second in the final. Another Bettors Delight offspring, Ideation Hanover, was second in the Jug distaff companion event, the Jugette.

The richest performer to date in the OSS this year is the three-year-old pacing colt Century Farroh who has tucked more than $369,000 in OSS loot under his harness this year for trainer Dr. Ian Moore and owners Ratchford Stables of Nova Scotia.
The talented colt has over $600,000 banked this year thanks to wins against open competition in the Simcoe Stakes, Somebeachsomwhere and North America Cup consolation. Farroh is sired by the late, great Mach Three who stood alongside Kadabra at Tara Hills Stud in Port Perry.

Tomorrow night at Mohawk finds a stakes laden card anchored by the richest race for rookie pacing colts in Canada, the $750,000 Metro. Four of the 10 starters are Ontario-sired (see below). Among them is the Bettors Delight colt Tall Dark Stranger who is the only Metro finalist with an unbeaten record coming into the contest.

Owned by Ontario’s Marvin Katz along with partners Crawford Farms Racing, Caviart Farms and Howard Taylor, Tall Dark Stranger has won all five races he’s competed in including two Ontario Sires Stakes Gold events. Bred by James Avritt of Kentucky, the handsome colt sold as a yearling for $350,000 last year. Ontario race fans will recognize his dam, the top mare Precocious Beauty, who was campaigned by Gregg McNair.

Also on tap tomorrow night is the $540,000 Shes A Great Lady finale for rookie pacing fillies with five of the finalists sired by Ontario stallions. What’s also interesting to note is that of the non Ontario-sired starters in the Shes A Great Lady (named in honour of one of the top performers in the OSS more than two decades ago) final, two are by Somebeachsomewhere and two are by his son Captaintreacherous. Somebeach, a son of Mach Three, is of course one of the most talented graduates ever of the OSS program.


On the Metro Side threre are three sons of the Beach and two by Captaintreacherous. The Ontario-sired performers in each final are as follows:


$540,000 Shes A Great Lady Final

Off The Press (Sportswriter)

Saulsbrook Raven (Big Jim)

Alicorn (Bettors Delight)

Peaky Sneaky (Bettors Delight)

Betalady (Bettors Delight)


$750,000 Metro Final

Ys Mathis (Sportswriter)

Tall Dark Stranger (Bettors Delight)

One For Julius (Hes Watching)

Beach Blanket Book (Sportswriter)

27 Mar, 2024
OSAS has been very generously gifted a pair of Toronto Maple Leaf tickets which you have the chance to win by purchasing a raffle ticket. Tickets are $10 each and may be purchased in person through Joanne Colville or Emma Christoforou and paid before the draw via e-transfer, cash, or credit card or email, call or text Joanne at osashorses@gmail.com or 905-339-6748. The game is on Saturday, April 13 at the Scotiabank arena. The Leafs are facing the Detroit Red Wings. The seats are in section 115, row 26, seats 13 & 14 and have a face value of $660. The draw for the winner of the tickets will take place on Facebook Live on Sunday, April 7. Special thanks to Renata and Dave Lumsden for the generous donation.
07 Mar, 2024
March 15th is the final day to place your order for our fundraiser featuring the delicious fudges and spice mixes from Phil's Fudge Factory. The flavours available are as follows: Chocolate Chocolate Coconut Chocolate Pecan Chocolate Mint Swirl Cinnamon Bun Cookie Monster Lemon Cheesecake Canadian Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Explosion Rolo Sour Cherry Tiger Eye For more information on the fudge, please click here to view their Spring Fudge catalogue. In addition to fudge, Phil’s is also offering an assortment of Spice Mixes, these include: Bacon & Chives Baked Crab Bake Spinach Bruschetta Buffalo Ranch Cajun Wildfire Chipotle Bacon Country Ranch Creamy Jalapeno Curried Garlic Dill Delight Everything Bagel Guacamole Herb & Garlic Honey Mustard Horseradish Bacon Island Jerk Mexican Fiesta Roasted Potato Spicy Veggie Spinach Supreme Tiramisu Tomato Basil Traditional Onion Additional information on the spice mixes may be viewed here . The spice mixtures are $5/per while the blocks of fudge are $13 each. We ask that payment accompany your order. Etransfers may be sent to: osashorses@gmail.com . Orders may also be paid in cash to Emma Christoforou at Flamboro or Mohawk. Any questions, please call or text Joanne at 905-339-6748.
13 Feb, 2024
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s 2024 stallion auction concluded on Saturday, February 10, at noon. We sincerely thank each and every stallion owner and farm who donated a breeding to support the official adoption agency for retired Standardbreds in the province. We’d also like to thank everyone who took the time to make bids on these 15 popular Ontario stallions. The results of this year’s auction are as follows:
05 Feb, 2024
A reminder that the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s annual stallion auction starts at noon today (Monday, February 5) and includes breedings to stallions whose books have already closed as well as many other popular Ontario studs. One of OSAS’s mainstay fundraisers every year, the 2024 edition will close on February 10 at noon. This year’s auction is hosted by Easy Auction. To be eligible to bid, please register through the link here. Please note that if a bid is placed in the last 60 seconds of the auction, that stallion’s availability will be extended another 120 seconds, or until all bidding ceases. Bids must be made in increments of $100. If you have placed a bid Easy Auction will notify you by email if a higher bid has been placed. The successful bidders will be notified, also by email, when the auction closes. A $100 non-refundable deposit is required from every successful bidder. The winning bid, minus the deposit, is due to OSAS upon the birth of the 2025 foal. The full listing of sires available is as follows: Alarm Detector All Bets Off Archangel Betterthancheddar Betting Line Big Jim Cattlewash (book full & closed) Century Farroh Control The Moment King Of The North (book full & closed) Lookslikeachpndale McWicked My MVP Sportswriter Sunshine Beach If you have any questions, please reach out to Joanne Colville at osashorses@gmail.com or call or text 905-339-6748. Our gratitude to all who contribute to the stallion auction’s success year after year. The official adoption agency for Standardbreds in the province, OSAS is approaching our 30 th year of spreading the message of the versatility of our breed and finding pacers and trotters forever loving homes upon their retirement. Photos – Control The Moment (courtesy Tara Hills Stud), My MVP (courtesy Winbak Farm)
22 Jan, 2024
The upcoming Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s annual stallion will provide breeders the opportunity to obtain breedings to stallions whose books have already closed for this year as well as many other popular Ontario stallions. The auction will begin on February 5 at noon and close on February 10 also at noon. This year’s auction is being hosted by Easy Auction. To register and to bid please click here. The full listing of sires available is as follows: Alarm Detector All Bets Off Archangel Betterthancheddar Betting Line Big Jim Cattlewash (book full & closed) Century Farroh Control The Moment King Of The North (book full & closed) Lookslikeachpndale McWicked My MVP Sportswriter Sunshine Beach OSAS wishes to thank all of the stallion owners for their generosity again this year and to all of the bidders who make this one of our most productive fundraisers year after year. Additional stallion breedings will be accepted up until date of auction. To donate or if you have any questions, please reach out to Joanne Colville at osashorses@gmail.com or call or text 905-339-6748. The official adoption agency for Standardbreds in the province, OSAS is approaching our 30 th year of spreading the message of the versatility of our breed and finding retired pacers and trotters forever loving homes upon their retirement.
09 Jan, 2024
OSAS’s annual stallion auction, an anchor of our fundraising efforts every year, will kick off on February 5 th and run through to February 10, 2024. We are grateful for the breedings already pledged; the full list of names will be announced shortly. Anyone wishing to donate a breeding, or with questions regarding the auction, should reach out to osashorses@gmail.com or call or text 905-339-6748. We’re pleased to announce that this year’s auction will be hosted by Easy Auction. Terms and conditions remain as in previous years.
18 Dec, 2023
We are very pleased to use a beautiful photo of Tymal Tempo to spread our Christmas message this season. Now known as Teddy, the five-year-old gelding was recently adopted by Marie-Eve Drouin who graciously allowed OSAS to use her photo for our 2023 holiday image. Teddy is Marie-Eve’s first Standardbred and she is thrilled with him. “I love him to pieces, he is the sweetest and most gentle horse I know,” praised Marie-Eve who began riding when she was seven and living in France. Teddy is currently in training. “I ride him Western and English, he is versatile and his strides are beautiful. I wish to show him eventually. He’s amazing in the ‘in the flat’ classes,” she noted. Bred by Tymal Farms, the son of Kadabra was raced by Julie Walker and earned just over $23,000 in his career which saw him face the gate 18 times. His last start was in April of 2022. A full brother to Haveoneforme ($361,784) and Tymal Riggs ($191,000), Teddy hails from a family of trotting royalty. His second, third and fourth dams are all O’Brien Award winners in Filly At Bigs (2002 - 2tf), Mombasa (1996 – 3tf) and Mygal Haw Lea (1996 – Broodmare of the year). This past year has been a busy one for the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society with many horses like Teddy finding their forever homes. We wish all of our supporters a joyous holiday season and extend special thanks to our fantastic foster farms, wonderful volunteers and extremely supportive board. Peace and Joy to all and sincere wishes for a healthy and happy 2024.
12 Dec, 2023
A live draw was held Monday (December 11) evening to announce the winning bidders of the 2023 Santa’s Second Chance Raffle which featured 21 baskets packed with incredible gifts including tickets to the Toronto Maple Leafs and a full harness. The proceeds of this popular event go to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society which facilitates the retraining and rehoming of retired Standardbreds. The results are as follows. Basket Winner Basket 1 – Makes Scents To Me Adele Rossi Basket 2 – For Her Judy Graham Basket 3 – Lucky Lotto Crystal Legace Basket 4 – Dog Lovers Sue Brooks Basket 5 – Chocolate Lovers Shayne Simms Basket 6 – Game Night Robin MacKay Basket 7 – Show Stopper Jenna McNiven Basket 8 – Movie Night Don Pearson Basket 9 – Girls Night Monique MacLean Basket 10 – Equestrian Lovers Brian Laking Basket 11 – Self Care Linda Feth Basket 12 – Preserves Monique MacLean Basket 13 – Hockey Night Blake MacIntosh Basket 14 – On The Go Cathy Walsh Basket 15 – Little Italy Monique MacLean Basket 16 – Harness Racing Kim Marks Basket 17 – Date Night Monica Goss Basket 18 – Spreads, etc. Norah Parks Basket 19 – Bakers’ Basket Monique MacLean Basket 20 – Equine Care Kim Marks Basket 21 – OSAS Swag Fran Brethour Our sincere appreciation to everyone who took the time to purchase tickets and also to those who donated items to be raffled and congratulations to the successful purchasers. We will be in touch to get your basket items to you. A huge thank you to Emma Christoforou for organizing this wonderful fundraiser with assistance from Jean Posthuma and Joanne Colville. Emma’s goal for this year’s event was $7,500 which she far surpassed as the raffle raised in excess of $8,300. Note – full descriptions of all of the items in each basket can be accessed here.
04 Dec, 2023
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is pleased to announce the return of the very popular Santa’s Second Chance Raffles, the proceeds of which go to support the retraining and rehoming of retired Standardbreds. The raffle features a total of 21 gift baskets full of a wide variety of items (including Leaf tickets and a full harness) sure to please even the toughest person to buy for on your list. The tickets are either $2 or $5 depending on the value. You may buy as many tickets as you like and place them in the basket(s) of your choice. Tickets are available for purchase up until midnight December 10, 2023. To pay for the tickets, please send an etransfer to: santassecondchanceraffles@gmail.com and include how many tickets you want to buy and which basket(s) you wish to place them towards – each basket is numbered – in the memo. Please provide your first and last name, as well as your phone number on the ticket if you are not part of the Facebook page which is where all of the available baskets may be viewed. ( Santa’s Second Chance Raffles on Facebook). If you are unable to pick your basket up and would like it shipped, that will be at your expense. There will be a live stream video via Facebook of the draws on Monday, December 11, 2023, time to be announced, likely early evening. Thanks to everyone who participates and supports OSAS this holiday season and kudus to everyone who contributed towards this year’s incredible offerings.
06 Nov, 2023
OSAS has welcomed nine new Standardbreds over the past few weeks including trotter Dia Monde who earned in excess of $446,000 during his racing life. Trained by Tom Durand throughout his career, the now 10 year-old gelding competed in several top level stakes events and was very competitive in the Ontario Sires Stakes as well. Bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, the son of Deweycheatumnhowe was a $70,000 yearling purchase at Harrisburg. He is a half-brother to millionaire Looking Hanover and his second dam is the trotting matriarch B Cor Tamara. Dia Monde will enter training before being available to adopt.
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