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
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
10 years in U.S. prison for Canadian man who stole millions with fake psychic fraud
A former Montreal resident has been sentenced to 10 years in a United States federal prison for a multi-decade fraud that manipulated more than one million Americans into sending money to fake psychics.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.