Looks like featured speaker Jeff Gural will definitely pack the house at the upcoming Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association (SBOA) Annual Awards Banquet.
Very few tickets remain to the Saturday, January 21st event scheduled for the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre.
SBOA President Anna Meyers is thrilled with the response. “This’ll be the earliest we’ve ever had a sell-out,” she said.
“I think we’re all looking forward to hearing Jeff Gural’s plans for revitalizing the Meadowlands and the impact that can have on the rest of the industry and on our fan base.”
Gural was recently voted 2011 Horseperson of the Year in the USTA’s Railbird Recognition Awards and will have two weeks of operating the “New Meadowlands ” under his belt when he flies in for the Toronto event. The New York resident has also won popularity points for bold moves to improve integrity on the racetrack and to ensure a better entertainment experience for the customer.
The Stallion Auction is always a highlight of the SBOA Banquet and this year owners of 22 Ontario sires have generously donated services. Attendees will be able to scoop up 2012 breedings to: Angus Hall, Art Colony, Artistic Fella, Big Jim, Camluck, Federal Flex, Holiday Road, Jeremes Jet, Lis Mara, Mach Three, Major in Art, Mister Big, Muscle mass, Ponder, Plesac, Rambaran, Santanna Blue Chip, Shadow Play, Sportswriter, Stonebridge Regal, Up the Credit, Vintage Master, and Warken Class.
Only $250 of the top Auction bid is due immediately, with the remainder billed on a live foal basis.
As always, the annual Silent Auction will offer a broad range of recreational activities, products and services. A few of this year’s highlights include a mini-vacation with airfare to Vancouver and accommodation at the River Rock Casino, an original oil painting by equine specialist Phil Berkeley, and a private lunch at the March Can-Am show in London with popular Heartland TV series star Amber Marshall.
A complete list of Silent Auction items and contributors will be released shortly.
As for now, very few tickets are still available. If you don’t have yours yet, contact Aimee Adams today at: 519-856-4431 or aimee@sboa.info .
One final important note, there are two Toronto Sheraton Airport hotels in the same vicinity. The SBOA Banquet site is the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre, at 801 Dixon Rd. This is NOT the Sheraton Hotel site within the Airport.
