Canadian Dollar to Be Noted Separately in '03 Catalogues

The Society of International Thoroughbred Auctioneers has announced that purse money earned in Canada since Jan. 1, 2003 will be denoted separately in future North American sales catalogues. The new policy will not be retroactive.

"In fairness to our customers, sales companies recognize that there is a significant difference in the value between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar," said Geoffrey Russell, SITA's 2003 chairman and director of sales for the Keeneland Association. "SITA has worked hard to develop a plan that meets the needs of buyers, consignors, and the auction companies."

Pedigree pages will continue to show combined earnings through Dec. 31, 2002. There will be a separate designation for money earned in Canada since Jan. 1. Those earnings will be reported in Canadian dollars.

Carl Hamilton, chairman and chief executive officer of The Jockey Club Information Systems, and secretary of the International Cataloguing Standards Committee worked with SITA representatives to implement the policy. He believes their efforts may lead to future enhancements to earnings reportings in catalogues.

"With the internationalization of Thoroughbred racing, there may be opportunities in the future to separate earnings in native currencies from other countries," Hamilton said.