Mohawk Protocols For Racing
May 26, 2020
Woodbine Entertainment today released its Phase One protocols applicable for all racing operations at Woodbine Mohawk Park, including race nights, qualifiers and training.
All racing participants and staff are required to familiarize with and practice the protocols.
Mohawk opens for training tomorrow, Wednesday, May 27. The first qualifying day is Thursday, May 28. Live racing resumes on Friday, June 5. All live racing, qualifiers and training will be held without spectators.
Woodbine Mohawk Park – Protocols
Applicable to all operations including Race Nights, Qualifiers and Training Mornings - Phase 1
Effective May 27, 2020
We are working hard to keep our racing participants safe and healthy. Please help us all keep racing operations going safely by following the protocols set out in this document. Every essential staff person and racing participant must follow the safest practices on-site and off-site: please try to limit exposure outside of the racetrack, stay 6 feet/2m away from others, recommended to wear a mask outside the home if possible, do not touch your face, and wash hands/sanitize frequently.
The health of our horse people is of paramount importance, but the group that post the greatest risk to continue racing, are the drivers and the Start Car driver and Starter. Please handle these groups with great care and respect and encourage others to do so too. Always wear your mask, keep your hands sanitized, and wear gloves when coming into contact with frequently touched areas such as water taps, crossties and stall door latches.
As per Government guidelines the Woodbine Mohawk Park site will be closed to all spectators. Owners and Media are not permitted at this time. Only essential personnel will be granted access.
General Rules of Paddock Operation
The Paddock shall be disinfected after each racing, qualifying and training day. Sanitizing stations will be placed throughout the paddock. Entry into the paddock shall be limited to essential personnel only. Non-essential personnel will not be granted access to the site.
Every person entering the paddock shall undergo screening and temperature checks at the Security Check Point. This will be the ONLY point of entry for all Woodbine staff, regulatory officials and racing participants.
All communications should be carried out electronically where possible to limit in person contact.
There shall be no loitering in or around the entrance to the paddock, as all COVID-19 protocols on physical distancing shall be adhered to.
The paddock kitchen shall remain closed. All essential personnel must bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages until further notice. There will be no microwave in the paddock. Racing participants are encouraged to bring their own supply of drinking water during the extreme warm temperatures.
Masks (or face covering nose and mouth) are mandatory at all times for racing participants. It is strongly recommended racing participants also wear gloves when coming into contact with frequently touched areas such as water taps, cross ties and door latches.
Essential Paddock Personnel Includes:
- Paddock Judge, Horse Identifier, Saddle Pad Attendant, Parking Lot Attendant, Outrider, two Starting Car Persons, Security, Blacksmith, Veterinarians, TC02 Tech, Test barn Techs, Property Services Labourer, Trainers, Grooms, Drivers, Judges, Official Racetrack Photographer.
- Owners are not permitted at this time as per Provincial guidelines for sports without spectators.
- Only trainers with an entry will be permitted, unless entering a claim that night.
- No one under the age of 16 shall be permitted onsite until further notice.
- Only the Paddock Judge & Equipment Inspector will have access to the Paddock Office.
- The grandstand will remain closed, other than the Race Office and Bookkeeper.
- There are NO food or beverage operations in the Grandstand until further notice.
- Grandstand washrooms are closed. Paddock facilities will be cleaned as per protocols.
Hand cleaning and sanitization stations
have been added to all key areas.
Race Night Operations:
Post times to be communicated from Race Office. Races will be spaced at 25 minute intervals. All horses must report to the Paddock as per their one hour retention time.
Physical Distancing:
Racing participants are instructed to get in and get out quickly and efficiently.
Horses in the old portion of the paddock shall be placed in every other stall to ensure physical distancing is being practiced. Horses racing out of the new paddock expansion shall be placed in stalls side by side, as these stalls are much wider, and the wall between stalls raises over 8ft high. Handlers of all horses must ensure they are keeping the appropriate distance from the handler of the horse beside them and wear a face mask and gloves at all times.
Horses shall only be allowed to go one warm up trip. Trainers wishing to go two warm trips must go first warm-up at home/training center. There shall be no extra warm up people in the paddock. Trainers must warm up their own horses. Each horse racing shall have a maximum of one handler. Trainers racing multiple horses must have grooms taking care of multiple horses. All horses and their handlers must leave the paddock half an hour following their race, unless the handler is tending to horses in a later race. Horses who have been post race tested may leave the paddock 45 minutes following their race.
The drivers' locker room, lounge and showers shall remain closed at this time.
Drivers are to wear face masks and gloves at all times, except when driving during the race. While waiting between races, drivers should maintain physical distancing protocols. Upon the driver’s last race of the day, he/she should leave the paddock immediately after notifying the Paddock Judge.
Lasix and CPMA Test Barn Procedures:
Lasix shall be administered in the two stalls at the southwest corner of the old paddock. These stalls will be fenced off, so that non-lasix horses do not have access to these stalls. Trainers shall unload their horses at the southwest door, and their horse will be administered its Lasix. Once it receives its Lasix the horse shall be taken back to Barn eight. There shall be no loitering in or at the entrance of Barn eight. All Handlers must either be outside in an open area practicing physical distancing or waiting in their vehicle until it is time for their horse to report to the Paddock.
Post Race testing:
Following each race, two horses shall be tested. Blood shall be drawn on all test horses after 30 minutes if the horse is unable to provide a urine sample. A Woodbine security guard shall be stationed outside of the test area to ensure all horses and their handlers are entering and exiting the test area in an appropriate fashion. The security guard will also supply anyone entering the test barn a new mask and gloves.
- Physical distancing to be practiced at all times. when entering the test barn with a horse. Attend the opposite side of the horse, from the technician.
- Remain vigilant and respectful of the Racing Forensic Technicians at all times.
- Hands sanitized on the way in and way out.
- Masks and gloves mandatory
Start Car:
Start Car Driver, and Starter will wear medical masks at all times.
The start car shall be sanitized and cleaned daily.
Racing Offices and Bookkeeper Racing Finance:
Race Office staff must ensure physical distancing is practiced. An extreme push shall be made to have trainers make their entries online. No more than one person shall be at the counter at one time. All others must wait outside of office doors with appropriate distance between each person. There shall be Plexi glass or plastic sheet between employees and horse people at counter.
Bookkeeper's Office shall only have one person in addition to the Bookkeeper at any time. All Others must wait outside office doors with appropriate distance between each person. There shall be a Plexi-glass window around desk.
Bookkeeper will only be open for business during LIVE racing hours only.
The protocols above apply to all Qualifying Races.
Training Mornings – Wed. & Sat. 7:00 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Training slots will be limited to 50 horses per two hour block.
- Trainers must sign-up in advance online using the online sign-up tool on a first come first serve basis. Contact Dylan Allain, Assistant Race Secretary with any questions dallain@woodbine.com.
- All protocols listed in the document are in effect for morning training hours.
(WEG)
It’s not often that OSAS has a two-year-old in our program but Naso Hanover is not your average two-year-old. “He’s just an old soul. He’s like a 20-year-old horse that’s been doing it forever,” Susan Mollica told WEG’s Matthew Loman in this week’s installment of OSAS Pathways which may be read through the link below. https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-insider/osas-pathways-naso-hanover/
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society will celebrate its 30 th anniversary next year and over those three decades several people have adopted more than one horse from our program. That’s certainly the case with Julie Wilson and her husband Rod MacLean, both retired police sergeants. The couple operate Northumbria Equine in Port Hope, Ontario, and have adopted four retired Standardbreds thus far from OSAS, the most famous of which is millionaire pacer Easy Lover Hanover. Affectionately referred to by Julie as ‘the boss of the barn,’ Easy Lover is the latest horse featured in WEG’s OSAS Pathway’s feature which may be read through the link below. https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-news/osas-pathways-easy-lover-hanover/
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is pleased to welcome the tough campaigner, Derf Hanover to our program. The talented trotter earned well over half a million dollars the hard way with 234 career starts in 10 seasons at the track. A son of Cantab Hall, Derf earned his life mark of 1:52.3 last year as a 10-year-old while racing at Mohawk. A regular on the WEG circuit for the past few years, Derf started his racing career south of the border under the guidance of trainer Ake Svanstedt. Bred by the renowned Hanover Shoe Farms, Derf sold as a yearling for $45,000. It wasn’t until his four-year-old season that he found his groove and he performed steadily for the next few years earning an average of $87,000 in each of his next six years at the track. From his five-year-old season on he raced in Ontario (with the exception of four starts at Harrahs in 2021). His last full season of racing was spent in the stable of Amanda and Tom Riley who remember him fondly. “Derf is quite the character; he likes to put on that he’s a grumpy old man but with some treats and scratches he melts right into you. He’s great with other horses; usually when he finds his pal he doesn’t let anyone else in his little posse. He’s as tough as they come,” said Tom recently. Derf Hanover is the most talented of his dam’s offspring, but his family is loaded with top performers. His dam is a half-sister to $200,000 winner Cocktail Hour who in turn is the dam of $1.3 million winner Bar Hopping. His second dam is a full sister to the great JEFS Spice. OSAS welcomes Derf Hanover into our program where he will enter training once he’s decompressed from racetrack life.
Iron tough racehorse and well loved retiree Conrad Seelster has passed. He was 33. The son of Threefold made an incredible 445 starts during his racing career with a lifetime summary of 54-61-61 for $310,285 in earnings. He was adopted from the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society at the conclusion of his racing career by noted equine artist Michelle Hogan Casson of Miller Lake, Ontario. Conrad happily spent the last 15 years as part of Michelle’s family. His story was shared by OSAS a few years back and may be read https://www.osas.ca/osas-stories#AnEquineLoveStory
WEG’s Matthew Lemon is spotlighting horses connected to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society in a bi-weekly feature called OSAS Pathways. Playsomthincountry is featured in the latest installment. The 16-year-old pacer hails from two of Canada’s longest running and well known Standardbred nurseries. He was bred by Seelster Farms, a stalwart in the industry for many years now and now operated by the second generation of Van Bussel family. His dam, Daylon Luxury, was bred and raised by Dave and Mary Lemon’s Daylon Farms of Komoka, Ontario. Playsomthincountry is a half-brother to $200,000 winner Luxury Seelster p, 4, 1:53s and another sister, Luxury Vacation, is the dam of a horse currently racing in Ontario, Honolulu Vacation. That four-year-old by Betterthancheddar earned his life mark of 1:53s with a win at Mohawk earlier this year. Honolulu Vacation last raced this past Sunday (October 26) at Flamboro for trainer Cody Hawkins who was also the trainer and owner of Playsomthincountry during his career. To read the story, please use the link below.  https://woodbine.com/mohawk/mohawk-news/osas-pathways-playsomthincountry/
Matthew Lomon of Woodbine Entertainment has started a series which will be updated twice a month and feature a horse connected to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society. The feature began this week with Beach Bet the first horse in the spotlight. A five-year-old son of All Bets Off, Beach Bet is currently training at the foster farm of Susan and Bert Mollica before embarking on his second career as a riding horse. Beach Bet, who Susan refers to as an equine Dennis The Menace, has royalty in his bloodlines as his second dam is a half-sister to one of the best pacers of all time, Somebeachsomewhere. The story may be read through this link. OSAS is a charitable organization founded in 1996 to assist in the adoption and relocation of retired and non-racing Standardbred horses and showcases the versatility of the breed.
Reverend Hanover was a star on the track during his racing career but he’s even busier these days representing the Standardbred breed as one of the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society’s ambassadors. Now 13, the son of Sportswriter’s most recent promotion was an appearance on Breakfast Television on September 18. OSAS’s Joanne Colville brought Reverend to Mohawk Racetrack where she met with CITY TV’s Rick Campanelli along with leading driver Bob McClure. Outfitted in Louis-Philippe Roy’s colours, Rick went for a tour around Mohawk with Bob as they discussed the upcoming incredible night of racing on Saturday night which features two $1 million races – the Mohawk Million and Metro Final for rookie trotters and pacers respectively along with the rich Elengantimage, Shes A Great Lady and Canadian Trotting Classic finals. “As always Rev was a rockstar,” Joanne noted. “He’s always such a professional and today was no different. Part of OSAS’s mandate is to showcase the Standardbred breed and he’s perfect for that role.” A couple of week ago Reverend Hanover participated, along with another OSAS ambassador, The Painted Pony, at Mohawk’s Community Day which encouraged patrons to bring their family to the track and get a close up look at a harness horse. Many of the visitors were able to sit beside a driver and ride behind Reverend as he took guests around the racetrack. Giving folks a new perspective of racing, from the actual driver’s view, is nothing new for Reverend Hanover. For several years now he has served as OSAS’s Drive With Us horse. Throughout the summer he is on hand at the Campbellville track pulling double duty. At the start of the evening he serves as the Meet & Greet horse and then gives folks rides around the oval in between races. During his career Reverend Hanover was a top performer in the Ontario Sires Stakes program. In total he made 27 lifetime starts and earned $551,213. He last raced in 2017 but he still makes lots of trips around the racetrack in his ambassador role. To watch the CITY TV segment please click here.
Iron horse Wheels On Fire has joined the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society where he’ll be trained for a second career after excelling at his first. As a racehorse the now 10 year-old faced the gate 197 times. He retires with an impressive summary of 51-41-29 and $1.2 million in earnings. The son of Somebeachsomewhere began his career as a two-year-old in 2017 and retired in September of 2025. His most productive year was 2022, as a seven-year-old, when he won more than $316,000 racing primarily in the preferred class on the WEG circuit. The previous season he won the O’Brien Award as Canada’s top older male pacer of the year. “He has been a great horse to have as well as a fan favourite for many years. He retires with over $1.2 million on his card as well as an O’Brien Award to his credit,” noted owner Brad Grant when he announced Wheels On Fire’s retirement last month. Wheels On Fire’s dam, Ab Fab, is a sister to three millionaire performers – Ashlees Big Guy, Betterthancheddar and Courtly Choice. She is also a sister to the dam of the fastest harness horse of all time, Bulldog Hanover. OSAS is honoured to assist this talented performer as he transitions into life away from the racetrack.
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society is very fortunate to be strongly supported by the entire harness racing industry in the province and that was certainly evident from yesterday’s annual golf tournament. The popular event sold out quickly and Wildwinds Golf Course was an ideal course once again this year. OSAS is sincerely grateful to everyone who contributed to this year’s success – the golfers, the sponsors, our incredible volunteers and support staff and all those who contributed prizes. We, and all of the OSAS horses, acknowledge and appreciate your support.
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society would like to remind participants that their annual golf tournament starts tomorrow at Wildwinds Golf Links (Guelph). Shotgun start is at 1 p.m. The always popular fundraiser, now in its 27 th year, sold out very quickly. OSAS thanks all those who signed up to golf and look forward to hosting you tomorrow. Note that registration takes place from 11:45 followed by lunch prior to tee off. Additional thanks to all those who supported the tournament through hole sponsorship and prize donations.
