Canadian Standardbred Rules & Regulations

General

All pari-mutuel pools are calculated and distributed in accordance with the regulations and directives as issued by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (“the Regulations”), under the approval and supervision of the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency.  The Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency can be contacted at 1-800-268-8835 (English), 1-800-326-3344 (French) or Email: cpmawebacpm@agr.gc.ca.

All tickets should be held until the result of the race is declared official and prices are posted.

No person under the age of 18 shall purchase or cash a ticket or voucher.

A claim of receiving an incorrect payment or incorrect change must be made to the Mutuel office of the association within twenty four hours of buying or cashing a valid ticket or voucher.

No ruling made by the Stewards/Judges or the Ontario Racing Commission with regard to distribution of purse money or the placing of horses in the order of finish, after the race has been declared official, shall have any bearing on the pay-out prices or distribution of pari-mutuel pools.

Change boards and Photo Finish display monitors are located in the Grandstand. In addition, Photo Finish pictures are shown on the closed-circuit television system.

Customers are reminded that mutuel clerks are responsible for all shortages. When making a wager, customers must present sufficient funds at the time of purchase to cover the wagers requested.

Entries and Mutuel Fields

“Entry” means two or more horses in the same race which, for the purpose of pari-mutuel betting, are coupled or considered as the same betting interest. The most common reason for the coupling of horses in an Entry is the fact that they are owned by the same person.

“Mutuel Field” means two or more horses in the same race which, for the purpose of pari-mutuel betting, are coupled because the number of horses in the race exceeds the number which can be handled separately by the pari-mutuel system.

Subject to the Regulations, a bet on one horse of an Entry or Mutuel Field shall be considered a bet on all horses in that Entry or Mutuel Field.

Daily Double Betting (Including Late Double)

A Daily Double bet is a betting transaction in which a purchaser of a ticket undertakes to select the official winners of each of the two races specified for the Daily Double. Tickets not selecting the winner of the first half of the Daily Double and all tickets in the second half of the Daily Double not coupled with the declared official winner of the first half of the Daily Double are not winners and are not refunded no matter what circumstances affect the running of the second half of the Daily Double.

Should a horse or horses (not coupled with another starter) be excused from starting in the second race of the Daily Double after the first race of the Daily Double has closed for betting, holders of all Daily Double tickets on such horses, coupled with the winner of the first Daily Double race, shall participate in a Consolation Double pool. (Effective Jan 1, 2012).

Exactor/Triactor/Superfecta

An Exactor, Triactor, Superfecta is a betting transaction in which a purchaser of a ticket undertakes to select the first two, three and four horses respectively, representing different betting interests to finish in the exact official order of finish, in the race on which the pool is operated. The above stated pools on races that have an entry (i.e. 1 & 1A and/or 2 & 2B) will not offer a wager combining both halves of the same betting interest. Example: If the same betting interest finishes first and second in an Exactor wager, the Exactor payout will be on first and third.

Pick 3 and Pick 4 Betting

The Pick 3 and Pick 4 bets are betting transactions in which a purchaser of a ticket undertakes to select the official winners of each of three or four successive races specified for the Pick 3 or Pick 4 respectively.

Winning tickets for the Pick 3 and Pick 4 are determined in the following sequence: A) winners of all legs, B) most winners, C) most second place finishers, or D) sequentially thereafter. If there is a change of surface in any leg that is NOT made known to the public prior to wagering for that pool closing, that leg will pay on all runners. If there are no winners in any leg of a pool, the entire pool is refunded. (Effective Jan 1, 2012).

Pick 3 and Pick 4 Scratches

In the event a Pick 3 or Pick 4 ticket designates as a selection a horse which is scratched, excused or determined by the Stewards/Judges to be a non-starter in any of the races comprising the Pick 3 or Pick 4, the favourite, as evidenced by the amount wagered in the win pool at the time of the start of the race in which the scratch occurred, will be substituted for the non-starting selection. In the event that the money bet in the win pool for two or more favourites is identical, the selection with the lowest program number shall be substituted for the non-starting selection.

However, if a scratch occurs in any leg of the Pick 3 or Pick 4 pools before the pool is closed, a ticket including the scratched horse may be cancelled.

Refunds

Subject to the Regulations, all monies in all pools on a race are refunded in the event that the race is cancelled, declared off or declared no contest, and all monies bet on a horse are refunded if the horse is a late scratch or does not receive a fair start.  These refunds will be communicated to the public through various means such as betting terminals, video display, changes boards and our website.

The Double, Pick 3, and Pick 4 pools are not refunded after the first leg has been declared official. The following pools will be refunded if the following occur:
• Pick-3: at least 2 legs are declared no contest or cancel. (Effective Jan 1, 2012)
• Pick-4, 5 or 6: at least 3 legs are declared no contest or cancel. (Effective Jan 1, 2012)

Where a horse that is part of an Entry is a late scratch or does not receive a fair start and at least one horse of that Entry receives a fair start in the race, all tickets purchased on the Entry remain valid and the purchase price of any such ticket shall not be refunded.

Common Pool Wagering (Intertrack Betting)

In the unlikely event of a communications or computer system failure that prevents pools from merging with the host track’s pools before the end of a race, CPMA regulations require that the site must refund all tickets for that race.  This refund will be communicated to the public through various means such as video displays, change boards and messages on our website.

Fair Start

If a horse has reached the Fair Start Pole (located 200 feet before the Starting Pole) by the time the mobile gate has reached the Starting Pole, that horse is deemed to have had a fair start. It makes no difference whether or not the horse is on or off stride at that precise moment. Under current policy and regulations, which are designed to be as fair as possible to all bettors on all starters, there is no Recall - a repeat of the entire starting procedure - when a horse does not reach the Fair Start Pole before the gate reaches the Starting Pole. Monies bet on such a horse are refunded in accordance with the regulation concerning refunds.

Lost & Old Tickets

WEG issued tickets or vouchers are valid indefinitely, however, they cannot be cashed at a mutuel teller after 2 years from date of issue. Please mail tickets, along with your name and address, to: Mutuel Manager, P.O. Box 156, Rexdale, Ontario, M9W 5L2, keeping a photocopy for future reference.

  For “Lost Tickets” originally sold at an Woodbine Entertainment Group racetrack or teletheatre, please enquire at the Mutuel office at Woodbine, Greenwood Teletheatre, or Mohawk. Policy may be subject to change retroactively in the event regulatory bodies amend existing regulations.

Association Percentage, and Taxation/Levy

The Woodbine Entertainment Group deducts and retains the following percentages from wagers placed at our own licenced sites which are then shared with the horsepeople, host and simulcast associations and the Ontario Racing Commission.

Horsepeople receive a further 2% on all wagers, except triactor wagering where it is 4%. The Ontario Provincial Government retains 0.5% on all bets placed in Ontario. The Canadian Government (through a revolving fund cost recovery basis) retains 0.8% on all wagers placed in Canada for provision of drug control, photo-finish, video patrol and audit services.

 To download a copy of the Rules & Regulations in PDF format please click here.