Standardbred Canada is pleased to
announce that it will host the 2017 World Trotting Conference and World Driving
Championship.
The event, which is held every two
years, will coincide with the 250th Anniversary of horse racing in
Canada. It will also mark the 25th edition of the World Trotting
Conference, an event that was inaugurated in 1969 in the United States.
Today, at the closing ceremonies of
this year’s World Trotting Conference, Australian officials formally passed the
torch to Canada.
“We are delighted and very excited
about the opportunity to welcome the global Standardbred racing industry to our
country in 2017,” said John Gallinger, President and CEO of Standardbred
Canada. “To tie this in with the 250th Anniversary of horse racing
in Canada is really quite special.
“Every year, the bar is set very
high,” said Gallinger. “We are inspired by the success of this year’s World
Trotting Conference and World Driving Championship, in Sydney, Australia, and
we are going to be working very hard over the next two years to ensure that our
event is world class.”
While locations and venues for 2017
will be confirmed in the coming months, one driver is already penciled in for
the trip to Canada. Dexter Dunn, from New Zealand, by virtue of his victory in
Australia, will be guaranteed a spot in the World Driving Championship. He will
be one of 11 international drivers taking part in the event.
"I've never been to
Canada so I'm really looking forward to competing in 2017," said Dunn.
Canada has previously
hosted the World Trotting Conference and World Driving Championship in 1973, 1989
and 2003. Canada has won the World Driving Championship in 1970 (Herve Filion),
1999 (Sylvain Filion), 2001 (Jody Jamieson) and 2011 (Jody Jamieson), but has
never won on home soil.
Standardbred Canada will
release more information about the 2017 World Trotting Conference and World
Driving Championship as it becomes available.
