Fred Gillis longs for the good old days. And ASHA’s executive director believes it’s possible that what has gone around in harness racing in Alberta, can come around again.
“I remember when some of our races carried big purses that encouraged local owners to invest in better quality racing stock, and occasionally attracted owners from outside the province to send their horses to race here,” he told me. “The Nat Christie in Calgary was probably the best example of that, but once in awhile someone would ship a horse into the market that could compete in races like the Western Canada Pacing Derby. It gave us a chance to see some of the stars of the day. It gave us a chance to match our horses against some of the best in the world. It gave our racetracks some profile when the races were picked up and broadcast to other locations. And it provided great entertainment for the racing public.”
You look down through the list of winners of some of the big harness races held in the province over the years and some names jump out. Falcon Seelster (1985), Matts Scooter (1988), and Village Connection (1995) are three examples of outstanding horses that shipped in to Calgary to win the Nat Christie. Hall of Fame driver, Buddy Gilmour, drove Hall of Fame horse, On The Road Again, into the winner’s circle at Northlands Park in Edmonton in the 1984 Western Canada Pacing Derby. Saskatchewan horseman, Ray Remmen, began his own Hall of Fame career racing on the Prairies and won the 1975 Western Canada Pacing Derby with Stormin Stephen in 1:59.4. It was the first sub-2:00 mile in western Canada harness racing.
And sometimes, an Alberta owned or Alberta bred horse would show the invaders a thing or two on the racetrack. Just Doodlin swept the Western Canada Pacing Derby and the Nat Christie for Hall of Fame driver-trainer, Keith Clark, in 1996. Clark won the Pacing Derby with As Promised and the Northlands Filly Pace with Flea Tag in 1992. He repeated the double four years later with Filly Pace winner, Sippin Time, and with Just Doodlin.
“They were all Alberta breds,” Clark told me. So was Sky Hagler which won the WCPD in 1990. So was Rons Girl which was a multiple stakes winner.”
The struggles Alberta racing has gone through over the past decade has led to the demise of some of those great events and pushed others into a lower status financially. Gillis, however, believes that a rebuild is possible for a number of reasons.
“The opening of Century Downs in Balzac, and the opening of Century Mile in Leduc next year is the starting point,” Gillis told me. We’ll have an operator which has already demonstrated its willingness to promote and market the sport. We’ll have the benefits of support from machine gaming at the racing entertainment centres. We’ve got the World Drivers Challenge at Century Downs on August 12th and that event is going to an international market. We’ve got a 45-site Alberta tele-theatre network and a bunch of racetracks around North America taking our Monday racecard via simulcast. And we’re starting to see a new and younger crowd of racing fans showing up to watch our product. When fans can identify with the stars of the sport, the sport tends to achieve a higher profile.”
Personally, I’d like to be able to find a sponsor for our Super Finals so that we could get the championship races up to $100,000 from their current $80,000 value. Those races are for Alberta breds, so it gives us a chance to continue to showcase our breeding program. We’ve also got the Western Canada Pacing Derby and the Filly Pace for the Edmonton scene. I’m delighted that Calgary auto dealer, Glen Rumpel, is going to come aboard as sponsor of the Lady Luck Stakes for 3 year old fillies. That race will be re-named the Gordon & Illa Rumpel Memorial Stakes, effective in 2018. Gordon and Illa owned Matts Scooter and On The Road Again during their racing careers, so to see their names associated with the re-birth of harness racing in the province is really special. And the Ralph Klein for the colts would be the fourth major. Both of those races carry total purses of $100,000.”
“The idea is to try and create incentives for owners to invest in racing stock and to have a chance to recoup their investments.”
To be sure, there are some challenges. One of them is North American horse supply, which is down substantially from the glory years of the 1980’s and ‘90’s. Even if you want to buy a good horse, you have to look long and hard, and probably spend more to get what you want. Serge Masse, who won four WCPD’s in a stretch of five years, tells an interesting story in that regard.
“I was bidding on a horse at an auction,” Masse told me. “The price was at $19,000 and I thought that was a fair price for the animal and one which I could afford. The auctioneer was just doing his job when he stopped the bidding for a moment to tout the horse’s attributes. The next thing I knew, the price had escalated to $67,000 US, which was way beyond good value for me. I just had to walk away.”
Veteran horseman, Kelly Hoerdt, introduces another difference from years ago. “Horses down east, especially in Ontario, now race for really lucrative purses, certainly by our standards,” he told me. “Purses here would have to be in the $175,000 range at least, in my opinion, to get eastern horsemen to take much interest. I won the Northlands Filly Pace last year when it went for $75,000” (in fact, Hoerdt-trained horses finished in the top four spots in the final).
And there’s the inevitable debate between those who think a couple of flagship events are great, and those who would rather see slow and steady growth in overnight purses.
“I can see both sides,” veteran conditioner, Rod Hennessy, told me. “I’m one of the few that can play the game either way. Last year, I think Keith and Kelly and I, and maybe Serge, were the only ones who went to the Harrisburg sale to buy horses. With the dollar where it is and with prices higher because there are fewer horses available, you need to prepare to spend some money to get good racing stock. There’s a lot to be said for putting some money into overnight purses to give owners of racehorses at that level a chance to get their money back. Even $300-$400 a race can make a real difference to a small owner who wants to be part of the industry but who’s facing a monthly training bill.”
We are still a little distance from seeing either dream become a reality. It will take some time after Century Mile opens to generate additional revenues, which can be re-invested in any project. The ten year agreement with the provincial government will add to the government’s revenue stream but will cost the industry a higher percentage of proceeds from machine gaming. So, it means that additional revenues have to be found: from increased wagering, from simulcasting, and from sponsorship. But ASHA’s best salesman believes it can be done.
“I think we’ve got something to sell here in Alberta,” says Fred Gillis, “and I think the sport’s future is getting brighter again. We’ve got some ideas of how we can grow this business. Let’s go try and see what happens.”
“I remember when some of our races carried big purses that encouraged local owners to invest in better quality racing stock, and occasionally attracted owners from outside the province to send their horses to race here,” he told me. “The Nat Christie in Calgary was probably the best example of that, but once in awhile someone would ship a horse into the market that could compete in races like the Western Canada Pacing Derby. It gave us a chance to see some of the stars of the day. It gave us a chance to match our horses against some of the best in the world. It gave our racetracks some profile when the races were picked up and broadcast to other locations. And it provided great entertainment for the racing public.”
You look down through the list of winners of some of the big harness races held in the province over the years and some names jump out. Falcon Seelster (1985), Matts Scooter (1988), and Village Connection (1995) are three examples of outstanding horses that shipped in to Calgary to win the Nat Christie. Hall of Fame driver, Buddy Gilmour, drove Hall of Fame horse, On The Road Again, into the winner’s circle at Northlands Park in Edmonton in the 1984 Western Canada Pacing Derby. Saskatchewan horseman, Ray Remmen, began his own Hall of Fame career racing on the Prairies and won the 1975 Western Canada Pacing Derby with Stormin Stephen in 1:59.4. It was the first sub-2:00 mile in western Canada harness racing.
And sometimes, an Alberta owned or Alberta bred horse would show the invaders a thing or two on the racetrack. Just Doodlin swept the Western Canada Pacing Derby and the Nat Christie for Hall of Fame driver-trainer, Keith Clark, in 1996. Clark won the Pacing Derby with As Promised and the Northlands Filly Pace with Flea Tag in 1992. He repeated the double four years later with Filly Pace winner, Sippin Time, and with Just Doodlin.
“They were all Alberta breds,” Clark told me. So was Sky Hagler which won the WCPD in 1990. So was Rons Girl which was a multiple stakes winner.”
The struggles Alberta racing has gone through over the past decade has led to the demise of some of those great events and pushed others into a lower status financially. Gillis, however, believes that a rebuild is possible for a number of reasons.
“The opening of Century Downs in Balzac, and the opening of Century Mile in Leduc next year is the starting point,” Gillis told me. We’ll have an operator which has already demonstrated its willingness to promote and market the sport. We’ll have the benefits of support from machine gaming at the racing entertainment centres. We’ve got the World Drivers Challenge at Century Downs on August 12th and that event is going to an international market. We’ve got a 45-site Alberta tele-theatre network and a bunch of racetracks around North America taking our Monday racecard via simulcast. And we’re starting to see a new and younger crowd of racing fans showing up to watch our product. When fans can identify with the stars of the sport, the sport tends to achieve a higher profile.”
Personally, I’d like to be able to find a sponsor for our Super Finals so that we could get the championship races up to $100,000 from their current $80,000 value. Those races are for Alberta breds, so it gives us a chance to continue to showcase our breeding program. We’ve also got the Western Canada Pacing Derby and the Filly Pace for the Edmonton scene. I’m delighted that Calgary auto dealer, Glen Rumpel, is going to come aboard as sponsor of the Lady Luck Stakes for 3 year old fillies. That race will be re-named the Gordon & Illa Rumpel Memorial Stakes, effective in 2018. Gordon and Illa owned Matts Scooter and On The Road Again during their racing careers, so to see their names associated with the re-birth of harness racing in the province is really special. And the Ralph Klein for the colts would be the fourth major. Both of those races carry total purses of $100,000.”
“The idea is to try and create incentives for owners to invest in racing stock and to have a chance to recoup their investments.”
To be sure, there are some challenges. One of them is North American horse supply, which is down substantially from the glory years of the 1980’s and ‘90’s. Even if you want to buy a good horse, you have to look long and hard, and probably spend more to get what you want. Serge Masse, who won four WCPD’s in a stretch of five years, tells an interesting story in that regard.
“I was bidding on a horse at an auction,” Masse told me. “The price was at $19,000 and I thought that was a fair price for the animal and one which I could afford. The auctioneer was just doing his job when he stopped the bidding for a moment to tout the horse’s attributes. The next thing I knew, the price had escalated to $67,000 US, which was way beyond good value for me. I just had to walk away.”
Veteran horseman, Kelly Hoerdt, introduces another difference from years ago. “Horses down east, especially in Ontario, now race for really lucrative purses, certainly by our standards,” he told me. “Purses here would have to be in the $175,000 range at least, in my opinion, to get eastern horsemen to take much interest. I won the Northlands Filly Pace last year when it went for $75,000” (in fact, Hoerdt-trained horses finished in the top four spots in the final).
And there’s the inevitable debate between those who think a couple of flagship events are great, and those who would rather see slow and steady growth in overnight purses.
“I can see both sides,” veteran conditioner, Rod Hennessy, told me. “I’m one of the few that can play the game either way. Last year, I think Keith and Kelly and I, and maybe Serge, were the only ones who went to the Harrisburg sale to buy horses. With the dollar where it is and with prices higher because there are fewer horses available, you need to prepare to spend some money to get good racing stock. There’s a lot to be said for putting some money into overnight purses to give owners of racehorses at that level a chance to get their money back. Even $300-$400 a race can make a real difference to a small owner who wants to be part of the industry but who’s facing a monthly training bill.”
We are still a little distance from seeing either dream become a reality. It will take some time after Century Mile opens to generate additional revenues, which can be re-invested in any project. The ten year agreement with the provincial government will add to the government’s revenue stream but will cost the industry a higher percentage of proceeds from machine gaming. So, it means that additional revenues have to be found: from increased wagering, from simulcasting, and from sponsorship. But ASHA’s best salesman believes it can be done.
“I think we’ve got something to sell here in Alberta,” says Fred Gillis, “and I think the sport’s future is getting brighter again. We’ve got some ideas of how we can grow this business. Let’s go try and see what happens.”
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