Yvonne Schwabe
Yvonne Schwabe is a successful breeder and owner of Thoroughbred Racehorses and is the owner of Persley Den Farms in Acton, Ontario. A graduate of the Animal Sciences Program at both the University of Florida and the University of Guelph, Yvonne has been breeding racehorses for close to 20 years. One of her more recent accomplishments includes breeding 2013 Queen's Plate winner, Midnight Aria. Yvonne is also a Director with the National CTHS and is a Director and the Sales Chair of the CTHS Ontario Division.
Arika Everatt-Meeuse
Arika Everatt-Meeuse was raised in the Thoroughbred Breeding Business at her family's Shannondoe Farm in St. Thomas, Ontario established in 1971. For the past 20 years Arika has been successfully mating the Shannondoe broodmare band of more than 30 mares through her AEM Bloodstock Consultations Service. A steady producer of successful racehorses, one of the more recent successes include producing millionaire and 2010 Sovereign Award Champion Older Male, Sand Cove.
Jayson R. Horner
Jayson Horner is the Co-founder, President and CEO of CanDeal, a fixed income and derivatives trading company founded in 2001. Jayson is the breeder and part-owner with Cabernet Racing Stable of 2014 Prince of Wales winner, Coltimus Prime. Based in Ontario, Jayson was introduced to the Thoroughbred racing industry by his father who owned horses when he was a child. Jayson jumped into the business as an owner and breeder in 2007 with the majority of his racing stock being Ontario Sired horses.
Ian Howard
Ian Howard is a Graded Stakes winning trainer who has been training horses at Woodbine since the early 1980's. The trainer of the 2013 G3 Valedictory Stakes winner, Quaesitor, Ian has been a consistent trainer, most recently amassing 45 wins and close to $2.5 million in purse earnings in the past five years. Ian began as a groom at the age of 15 for such trainers as Jake Nemett and Jim Bentley and has trained stakes winners Jade Cat, Mordacious, Millashand, and Questuary, a stakes winner who placed fourth in the Woodbine Oaks.
Darren MacDonald
Darren MacDonald is the General Manager of Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, British Columbia and is also responsible for providing oversight and direction for BC horseracing to parent company Great Canadian Gaming Corporation. Darren joined Hastings Racecourse as General Manager of Gamin Operations in 2007 and has been extensively involved in the racing side of the business at the track.
Dory Newell and Ernie Semersky
Dory Newell and Ernie Semersky are co-owners of Conquest Stables, LLC, a racing stable which was born of the excitement that they experienced during their first trip to the Kentucky Derby in 2012. Conquest Stables, LLC has made quite an impact in Canadian racing in a short amount of time with both Dory and Ernie accepting the Sovereign Awards in both two-year-old categories for filly Conquest Harlanate and colt Conquest Typhoon in 2014. The stable was also a finalist for Outstanding Owner and owned two-year-old male finalist Conquest Tsunami. In 2014, Conquest Stables, LLC had more than 50 horses in training in Canada and the United States with plans to expand to breeding broodmares and owning stallions.
Rick Pettifer
Rick Pettifer began owning racehorses in 2003 and found immediate success in his first partnership with trainer Ken Parsley, as co-owners of the multiple stakes winning 2-year-old Sovereign Champion filly, My Vintage Port. Rick has since been involved in various other partnerships and in 2009 branched out on his own racing at Woodbine under Pettifer Holdings, Inc.
Jason Teague
A native Albertan, Jason Teague's family became involved in the horse racing industry more than 30 years ago. Jason personally owned his first racehorse in 1993, the same year he began working for Daily Racing Form in Distribution. Jason took a position working at Northlands Park in the summer of 1999 and ten years later became the Race Secretary with Manager of Live Racing added to his responsibilities at Northlands in 2011.