It doesn’t feel like it. It might be sunny but it still feels pretty cool standing outside the paddock. It doesn’t look like it. There’s still a lot of snow and ice around the racetrack, and around the training tracks and barns across the province.
But the calendar says it is spring. And hopefully it will feel like spring on Sunday afternoon, April 1st, at 1:15 PM when the 2018 harness racing season opens at Century Downs in Balzac.
“Horsemen have been able to get some training done,” racing secretary, Jackson Wittup, told me. “But everybody’s behind schedule. We’ve got about 150 horses on the grounds. Twenty-five of them made it successfully through qualifying on Saturday morning. Some that are here are still eligible to race without having to qualify. We’ll see what the entry box looks like on Wednesday morning.”
“We may be short until Fraser Downs closes on April 14th and until a half dozen horsemen who have spent the winter racing at Cal Expo in Sacramento return to the province. Ryan Grundy’s probably done the best of any of the Alberta trainers who went south for the winter. I expect that there are 12-15 trainers at Fraser Downs who we can expect to show up for the season here at Century Downs. So, we’ll do the best we can with what we have until they arrive.”
Through March 24th, Grundy had a 9-11-12 log from 96 starters at Cal Expo. Quentin Schneider has done pretty well too, posting an 8-12-5 mark from 68 starters. The good news is that when they arrive they’ll be bringing stables of horses that have been racing, so it should not take long for them to find their way to the entry box. It’ll be the same story for those stables which have been competing through the winter at Fraser Downs.
What to do with them when they come to Alberta is the next question. Most of the stable space at Century Downs has been booked. There’s room for horses at Olds College, about 45 minutes north of the racetrack. And the new owners of The Track on Two at Lacombe, a little more than an hour north of Balzac, are working hard and hope to have at least 70 stalls ready for use by April 15th.
“The track is cleared,” Kurt Belich told me. He and partner, Ross Morrison, took over the facility from Bobby Allan last summer, and have been working hard to make improvements.
“Ron Grift, who spent 30 years at Northlands Park in Edmonton, is coming in this week to examine the racetrack and tell us what we need to do to get it ready for training. We’ve got a stall application on the ASHA web site if some trainers are looking for space. We’re doing considerable work on the grandstand. We’ve added things like washrooms on the main level. Getting the kitchen in shape is the next project on the list. We’re also applying to the county for permits to expand what we can offer to both the public and to horsemen. Right now, we can accommodate about 600 people. But we’d like to grow that number and we’d like to offer a more diverse entertainment product on race days and more events generally.”
“We’re also working with Horse Racing Alberta to get a B-track license to stage races. We had a day or two of racing last fall and we think there’s room for more. We’ve got 20 acres of ground north of the grandstand that’s never been developed, so we’re examining what we could do with that. In all, we have about 145 acres of land on the east side of Highway 2. As well, we have a small parcel on the west side of the highway.”
“By the time we get these improvements finished we’ll have invested about $1.5 million in the project, over and above what we paid for the purchase. So, we’re serious about supporting the industry and excited about the possibilities for the future.”
Stabilizing that facility is part of Belich’s drive to be an option to provide harness racing with a venue this fall. Work is underway at Century Mile in Leduc, but it appears the new facility won’t be ready for the meet that was scheduled to start there in mid-September. Century Casino, which is building the facility, has told the industry that the opening has been pushed back to the spring of 2019. Officials from Horse Racing Alberta and Alberta Standardbred are currently looking at alternatives.
People & Pacers….
The biggest news on the backstretch this spring is that veteran driver, Gerry Hudon, has driven in his last race.
“The doctors have told me I cannot withstand another concussion,” Gerry told me. “So, I’ve decided for the good of myself and my family, I’m going to find some other things to do to keep myself busy. I’ll train some horses and help Phil Giesbrecht who’ll be driving a lot of my stock. And I’m excited to be part of a committee of Standardbred Canada and the US Trotting Association. We’re looking at trying to create a standardized rulebook for the industry. Right now, it’s early stage. We’re meeting by conference call about every two weeks. It’ll be a long complicated process. But I hope it will make for better understanding of the rules when we’re done and ensure that racing continues to be conducted fairly for everyone involved.”
Hudon retires from driving with 2,084 wins from 11,913 starts. His horses earned more than $13.2 million in more than 30 years of racing. As usual, he’ll look at those numbers and wonder where it all went! “Where it went, Gerry, was back into running a thriving stable, keeping a bunch of people employed over the years, raising a wonderful family, and being one of the good people in the harness racing business.”
Two other driver-trainers won’t be around either, at least for a while. Veteran Bill Tainsh Jr., has taken a job near his off-season home in the Shuswap. His small stable with horses owned by Willie Wychopen and Wally Moroz, has been turned over to Daniel LeBlanc. Mike Hennessy has stepped away from the sport, at least for the time being. That likely means that father, Rod, will have even more work to do.
A couple of familiar faces in the backstretch are expanding their roles. Kaitlin Haining has completed her work to become a full trainer and will be of even more help to her father, Harold. And Marjorie Dumont is going to get her driver’s license so that she can better assist husband, J-F Gagne.
“I’ve driven in amateur races for years,” she told me. “I’ve trained horses at our home track. J-F has been pushing me to get my license. So, I decided with a good nanny for our two young children, I can do something I’ve always wanted to do. Among other things, I need ten qualified drives to get my license. I got two of them in Saturday’s qualifiers. For the time being, I’ll just drive horses that J-F and I own. We’ll see how it goes.”
The biggest loss to the industry during the winter was Blue Burner. The 16 year old stallion had built a worthy reputation as a top sire in the province. Mateo (1:52.2 - $301,048) was an Alberta champion before being sold during the winter to US interests. So is Outlaw Fireball, the now 4 year old mare which dominated the 3 year old season last year. Fireball (1:55.1 - $326,073) is owned by a consortium led by J-F Gagne. She’s having a good rest right now at the farm near Wetaskiwin but she’ll be back in action later this spring.
In all, Blue Burner sired 147 horses. Ninety-seven of them made it to the races. Seventy-nine of those horses made it to the winner’s circle and owners took more than $5 million in purses to the bank. Burner was a good one. He’ll be difficult to replace as a stallion, and impossible to replace as a family member of Connie Kolthammer’s Outlaw Farms in Falun, AB.
His legacy will be sons and daughters who will become stars on Alberta’s racetracks for the next few years. Outlaw Stables and some other breeding operations in the province, are already reporting new foals on the ground and more expected over the next couple of months. The breeding operations are busy. Now it’s racing’s turn to move into the spotlight. Yes, it must be spring.
But the calendar says it is spring. And hopefully it will feel like spring on Sunday afternoon, April 1st, at 1:15 PM when the 2018 harness racing season opens at Century Downs in Balzac.
“Horsemen have been able to get some training done,” racing secretary, Jackson Wittup, told me. “But everybody’s behind schedule. We’ve got about 150 horses on the grounds. Twenty-five of them made it successfully through qualifying on Saturday morning. Some that are here are still eligible to race without having to qualify. We’ll see what the entry box looks like on Wednesday morning.”
“We may be short until Fraser Downs closes on April 14th and until a half dozen horsemen who have spent the winter racing at Cal Expo in Sacramento return to the province. Ryan Grundy’s probably done the best of any of the Alberta trainers who went south for the winter. I expect that there are 12-15 trainers at Fraser Downs who we can expect to show up for the season here at Century Downs. So, we’ll do the best we can with what we have until they arrive.”
Through March 24th, Grundy had a 9-11-12 log from 96 starters at Cal Expo. Quentin Schneider has done pretty well too, posting an 8-12-5 mark from 68 starters. The good news is that when they arrive they’ll be bringing stables of horses that have been racing, so it should not take long for them to find their way to the entry box. It’ll be the same story for those stables which have been competing through the winter at Fraser Downs.
What to do with them when they come to Alberta is the next question. Most of the stable space at Century Downs has been booked. There’s room for horses at Olds College, about 45 minutes north of the racetrack. And the new owners of The Track on Two at Lacombe, a little more than an hour north of Balzac, are working hard and hope to have at least 70 stalls ready for use by April 15th.
“The track is cleared,” Kurt Belich told me. He and partner, Ross Morrison, took over the facility from Bobby Allan last summer, and have been working hard to make improvements.
“Ron Grift, who spent 30 years at Northlands Park in Edmonton, is coming in this week to examine the racetrack and tell us what we need to do to get it ready for training. We’ve got a stall application on the ASHA web site if some trainers are looking for space. We’re doing considerable work on the grandstand. We’ve added things like washrooms on the main level. Getting the kitchen in shape is the next project on the list. We’re also applying to the county for permits to expand what we can offer to both the public and to horsemen. Right now, we can accommodate about 600 people. But we’d like to grow that number and we’d like to offer a more diverse entertainment product on race days and more events generally.”
“We’re also working with Horse Racing Alberta to get a B-track license to stage races. We had a day or two of racing last fall and we think there’s room for more. We’ve got 20 acres of ground north of the grandstand that’s never been developed, so we’re examining what we could do with that. In all, we have about 145 acres of land on the east side of Highway 2. As well, we have a small parcel on the west side of the highway.”
“By the time we get these improvements finished we’ll have invested about $1.5 million in the project, over and above what we paid for the purchase. So, we’re serious about supporting the industry and excited about the possibilities for the future.”
Stabilizing that facility is part of Belich’s drive to be an option to provide harness racing with a venue this fall. Work is underway at Century Mile in Leduc, but it appears the new facility won’t be ready for the meet that was scheduled to start there in mid-September. Century Casino, which is building the facility, has told the industry that the opening has been pushed back to the spring of 2019. Officials from Horse Racing Alberta and Alberta Standardbred are currently looking at alternatives.
People & Pacers….
The biggest news on the backstretch this spring is that veteran driver, Gerry Hudon, has driven in his last race.
“The doctors have told me I cannot withstand another concussion,” Gerry told me. “So, I’ve decided for the good of myself and my family, I’m going to find some other things to do to keep myself busy. I’ll train some horses and help Phil Giesbrecht who’ll be driving a lot of my stock. And I’m excited to be part of a committee of Standardbred Canada and the US Trotting Association. We’re looking at trying to create a standardized rulebook for the industry. Right now, it’s early stage. We’re meeting by conference call about every two weeks. It’ll be a long complicated process. But I hope it will make for better understanding of the rules when we’re done and ensure that racing continues to be conducted fairly for everyone involved.”
Hudon retires from driving with 2,084 wins from 11,913 starts. His horses earned more than $13.2 million in more than 30 years of racing. As usual, he’ll look at those numbers and wonder where it all went! “Where it went, Gerry, was back into running a thriving stable, keeping a bunch of people employed over the years, raising a wonderful family, and being one of the good people in the harness racing business.”
Two other driver-trainers won’t be around either, at least for a while. Veteran Bill Tainsh Jr., has taken a job near his off-season home in the Shuswap. His small stable with horses owned by Willie Wychopen and Wally Moroz, has been turned over to Daniel LeBlanc. Mike Hennessy has stepped away from the sport, at least for the time being. That likely means that father, Rod, will have even more work to do.
A couple of familiar faces in the backstretch are expanding their roles. Kaitlin Haining has completed her work to become a full trainer and will be of even more help to her father, Harold. And Marjorie Dumont is going to get her driver’s license so that she can better assist husband, J-F Gagne.
“I’ve driven in amateur races for years,” she told me. “I’ve trained horses at our home track. J-F has been pushing me to get my license. So, I decided with a good nanny for our two young children, I can do something I’ve always wanted to do. Among other things, I need ten qualified drives to get my license. I got two of them in Saturday’s qualifiers. For the time being, I’ll just drive horses that J-F and I own. We’ll see how it goes.”
The biggest loss to the industry during the winter was Blue Burner. The 16 year old stallion had built a worthy reputation as a top sire in the province. Mateo (1:52.2 - $301,048) was an Alberta champion before being sold during the winter to US interests. So is Outlaw Fireball, the now 4 year old mare which dominated the 3 year old season last year. Fireball (1:55.1 - $326,073) is owned by a consortium led by J-F Gagne. She’s having a good rest right now at the farm near Wetaskiwin but she’ll be back in action later this spring.
In all, Blue Burner sired 147 horses. Ninety-seven of them made it to the races. Seventy-nine of those horses made it to the winner’s circle and owners took more than $5 million in purses to the bank. Burner was a good one. He’ll be difficult to replace as a stallion, and impossible to replace as a family member of Connie Kolthammer’s Outlaw Farms in Falun, AB.
His legacy will be sons and daughters who will become stars on Alberta’s racetracks for the next few years. Outlaw Stables and some other breeding operations in the province, are already reporting new foals on the ground and more expected over the next couple of months. The breeding operations are busy. Now it’s racing’s turn to move into the spotlight. Yes, it must be spring.
RSS Feed
