Harness racing to resume in Southwestern Ontario this weekend in Phase One of reopening
Scott Wray is tired of only training his horses at his Dorchester, Ont. stable, he wants to compete.
"We're pretty excited, Our first night back is Saturday night that's Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia," says Wray, a harness driver and horse owner.
Phase One of the province's roadmap to reopening includes outdoor horse racing and motor speedways. That means as of this weekend, harness racing will resume at small town tracks across Ontario.
"There's been a lot of uncertainty and no one really knew when it was going to continue, or at what capacity," says Wray.
"It's going to be interesting to see how this weekend goes and how many horses are ready to race."
Scott Wray drives his horse in Dorchester, Ont. on June 8, 2021. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
Scott Wray drives his horse in Dorchester, Ont. on June 8, 2021. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
Condition sheets have been posted for the majority of Ontario's racetracks that plan to conduct live harness racing this weekend. Southwestern Ontario tracks in Sarnia, Dresden, Hanover and Clinton will open this weekend.
Clinton Raceway, which would normally open May 24 weekend, will host its first card of the season Sunday. They'll race right through until Labour Day.
"It's an exciting time for us that things are starting to open up," says Ian Fleming, general manager of Clinton Raceway.
The industry, which employs tens of thousands of people has taken a hit.
"It's been a trying time for everybody but the government was in a no win situation they want to keep everybody healthy and man everybody to get out and do things so it's hard to match those things up," says Fleming.
Jack Wray feeds his horse carrots in Dorchester, Ont. on June, 8, 2021. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
Jack Wray feeds his horse carrots in Dorchester, Ont. on June, 8, 2021. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
Racing season resumes, but not before major tracks which operate through the winter months missed out on another season.
"We're a London based stable and that's our major source income was at London Raceway," says Jack Wray, who co-owns horses at Wray Stable.
"We've lost two winters now, and it's been tough. On the agriculture side of the business you have the grain, the feed, the blacksmiths, the trucks , the trailers, the blankets and the equipment. It goes on and on and on. It's an endless stream and this industry generates a lot of money."
Now, with the resumption of racing, the hope is the bounce back can begin.
"These little summer tracks, it's really good for their local economy as it brings a lot of visitors within the city," says Scott Wray.
"So COVID has been tough but hopefully now that the racing starts back that the economy of the racing will come back."
There will be no fans in the stands when racing resumes this weekend, however racing will still be available online.
"We've got a good following that watch on the computer and we've got a pretty good signal there," says Fleming.
"We're hopeful we get a lot of people. We had a good year last year so we're hoping under the circumstances and do the same thing this year."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.