Eligibility

Rules and Regulations Governing the Nomination and Election
of Candidates to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Article One - Nominating Committee

1. At the pleasure of the Board of Directors there shall exist a Nominating Committee, whose function it shall be to receive information, study and vote on nominated people and horses, and to make such nominations to the Election Committee. It shall also be its function to assist in every way possible with the presentation of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame to the Canadian public.

2. Appointments to the Nominating Committee shall be by the Board of Directors on an annual basis, but they shall be made with the object of securing the maximum continuity of composition of the Committee. Whenever possible, members of the Nominating Committee shall be selected on the basis of their knowledge of the history, tradition and skills of horse racing in Canada and they shall be persons whose prestige, judgment and integrity are most likely to ensure the fair and impartial assessment of the qualities of the candidates submitted for their consideration and to ensure the maintenance of a high standard of excellence in the selections made by them.

3. There shall be two Nominating Committees, one for each breed.

4. The maximum number of members for each Nominating Committee shall be 'eight'.

5. Each Committee member, including the Chair, shall have one vote on each ballot in the nomination proceedings.

6. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors from amongst the Committee members and the Committee shall appoint a Secretary who need not be a Committee member.

7. A quorum shall consist of 'five' members. On voting for nominees, ballots submitted through the mails, fax or by telephone shall be accepted.

8. The Nominating Committee shall meet once a year to review candidates for nomination.

Article Two - Nomination Of Candidates

1. No member of the Nominating Committee shall make more than 'three' nominations for each election proceeding.

2. Nominations shall be made in writing and shall be filed with the Chair of the Nominating Committee not less than 'thirty days' prior to the date fixed for the election, except under such extraordinary circumstances as may be determined by the Election Committee.

3. Nominations shall contain the fullest possible data concerning the record and the merits of each candidate nominated.

4. Recommendations for candidates may be made by persons other than members of the Nominating Committee by complying with the provisions of these rules and regulations. However, no such recommendations shall be considered by the Nominating Committee unless it is "endorsed" by at least one member of the Nominating Committee and is included and considered as one of his personal authorized nominations.

5. The Chair of the Committee shall, as soon as practicable and, in any event, not less than fifteen days before the date fixed for the election, send to each member of the Nominating Committee a copy of each nomination and recommendation received together with all supporting material.

Article Three - Classification Of Inductees

1. There shall be 'five' categories of inductees in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame from any era:

(a) MALE HORSES 'Canadian-bred', or horses 'foreign-bred' who have distinguished themselves while racing for Canadian interests and have raced at least once in Canada or who have had an exceptional influence on Canadian horse breeding as sires.

(b) FEMALE HORSES 'Canadian-bred', or horses 'foreign-bred' who have distinguished themselves while racing for Canadian interests and have raced at least once in Canada or who have had an exceptional influence on Canadian horse breeding as broodmares.

(c) JOCKEYS, DRIVERS, TRAINERS: Jockeys, Drivers, Trainers are persons who meet the eligibility requirements of Articles Four -- Sections 4 & 5 respectively of these Rules & Regulations.

(d) BUILDERS: Are persons who include, but no limited to, Breeders, Owners, Media and others, who meet eligibility requirements of Article Four of these Rules & Regulations.

(e) VETERANS: Veterans are horses, whether alive or deceased, whose careers concluded at least twenty (20) years prior to the year in which they are nominated.

2. In this Article, "horses" shall mean either standardbred or thoroughbred.

3. Three candidates shall be nominated each year, in each of the five categories, by the Nominating Committee.

4. Inductees into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame may be referred to as "Honoured Members" of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, but such inductees shall not be entitled to any of the rights or privileges of a "member" of the Corporation within the meaning of the Canada Corporations Act.

Article Four - Eligibility For Election

1. Any Canadian-bred or Canadian-owned horse shall be eligible for induction as an Honoured Horse of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

2. Any person who is or has been connected with horse racing in Canada shall be eligible for induction as an Honoured Member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Such person need not have been born in Canada.

3. Candidates nominated as builders may be either active or inactive at the time of nomination.

4. Candidates nominated as jockeys, drivers shall have been 'retired' for at least two consecutive calendar years; or if they are 'still active' must have obtained their driver's or jockey's license at least twenty years prior to the year in which they are considered for nomination and be in at least their 50th year.

5. Candidates nominated as trainers shall have been ‘retired’ for at least two consecutive calendar years; or, if they are ‘still active’ must have obtained their driver’s, jockey’s or trainers’ license at least twenty years prior to the year in which they are considered for nomination and be in at least their 55th year.

6. Notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, a jockey, driver or trainer who dies or is killed or is incapacitated shall be eligible for immediate induction into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame by the Board of Directors.

7. Members of the Board of Directors and/or Nominating Committee and/or Election Committee are eligible for election as "Honoured Members".

8. A candidate whose nomination has been considered by the Nominating Committee and who has not been elected into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame may be nominated again for induction at a future meeting of the Nominating Committee.

Article Five - Election Committee

1. At the pleasure of the Board of Directors, there shall exist an Election Committee whose function it shall be to elect Honoured Members to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. It shall also be its function to assist in every way possible with the presentation of the Canadian Racing Hall of Fame to the Canadian public.

2. Appointments to the Election Committee shall be by the Board of Directors on an annual basis, but they shall be made with the object of securing the maximum continuity of composition of the Committee. Whenever possible, Members of the Election Committee shall be selected on the basis of their knowledge of the history, tradition and skills of horse racing in Canada and they shall be persons whose prestige, judgment and integrity are most likely to ensure the fair and impartial assessment of the qualities of the candidates submitted for their consideration and to assure the maintenance of a high standard of excellence in the selections made by them.

3. There shall be two Election Committees, one for each breed.

4. The maximum number of members of each Election Committee shall be 'twenty'.

5. The Chair of the Election Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors from amongst the Committee members and the Committee shall appoint a Secretary who need not be a Committee member.

6. Each Committee member, including the Chair, shall receive one ballot for the election proceedings.

Article Six - Method Of Election

1. The election of candidates may take place 'once' in each year.

2. The annual election proceedings shall, where practicable, be held each calendar year and, in the absence of specific direction from the Board of Directors, the number of candidates, both people and horses, to be elected in each year shall be at the 'discretion' of the Chair of the Election Committee.

3. Not less than thirty days before the date of the election the Chair of the Election Committee shall send to each member of the Election Committee a ballot, supporting material for each candidate, voting procedures and deadlines for balloting.

4. For the purposes of balloting the following rules shall apply:

(a) A secret ballot shall be used and each member shall be entitled to vote for a maximum of one candidate in each of the four categories.

(b) The candidate(s) who receives eight votes in each category shall be declared elected.

(c) Resolve any balloting irregularities by the unanimous consent of the two (2) Election Committee Chairs.

Article Seven - Recognition

1. When a candidate is duly elected as an Honoured Member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the name of such candidate shall be duly recognized by the President for official enrollment in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and all necessary actions shall be taken for inclusions of the records, souvenirs and other mementos with respect to such elected candidate for display in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame at its permanent exhibit site.

 

Article Eight - Publication Of Elections And Confidentiality

1. The President of the Hall of Fame or, if he is unable to act, the Chair of the Election Committee or, if he is unable to act, any member of the Board of Directors specifically designated for such purpose, shall release the results of the election proceedings for general publication.

2. No member of the Board of Directors or of the Election Committee shall disclose the results or other particulars of the balloting in advance of the official release provided for in the foregoing paragraph nor shall he disclose the vote of any member of the Election Committee at any time.

Article Nine - Removal Of Inducted Member

1. The Board of Directors at a meeting called specifically for that purpose may remove an inducted member from the Hall of Fame for any act or misconduct detrimental to the sport of racing by a vote in favour of at least 75% of those Directors attending such meeting.

Contacting the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame:

2150 Meadowvale Blvd.
Mississauga, Ontario L5N 6R6
Phone: (905) 858-3060
Fax: (905) 858-3111

or

Woodbine Racetrack
555 Rexdale Boulevard
Rexdale, Ontario M9W 5L2
Phone: (416) 675-3993, Ext. 2399
Fax: (416) 213-2126