Christoforou Issues Statement

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Published: February 8, 2010 11:49 am EST

After having announced his return to the sulky after a six-month sabbatical, Chris Christoforou returned to the racetrack less than two weeks ago. He proved that he still has what it takes to be one of Canada's marquee reinsman, but the three-time O'Brien Award winner has told Trot Insider that he is taking another

self-imposed hiatus.

Over the course of his career, the 'Golden Greek' has steered his mounts to more than 5,300 victories and just under $85 million in purse earnings.

Please join Standardbred Canada in wishing Christoforou all the best in his fight.

Christoforou's words appear below in their entirety.


To My Fellow Horsemen and Women;

It has recently become obvious to me that I need and want immediate professional therapy to help me fight an addiction I have developed to prescription pain medication. I have tried to control this problem myself, and although I am currently clean and am winning the battle, I feel as though I'm fighting something I don't fully understand yet.

With the help of a loving family and wonderful friends I have decided to enter a 45-day, 12-step program in the United States in the hope of getting my life and career back on track.

The encouragement and support I have received from everyone (especially in the past few weeks) has been overwhelming -- THANK YOU! It also serves as a reminder to me as to why I love this business and the people in it.

I have been in this business my entire life and one thing has never changed -- when one of us is down on their luck, there's never a shortage of people in this industry to step in and help out in any way they can. So when we hear and read about harness racing being in trouble, please remember this: Our breed of horses is strong, has a lot of stamina and is big-hearted -- just like the people that race them! If we put our heads together and keep trying to improve our product we can and will survive!

I look forward to seeing you all when I return to racing, and wish you all the best of luck on and off of the racetrack.

Sincerely,

Chris Christoforou, Jr.


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