Gilles Barrieau of Saint John is one of the best-known harness racers in the Maritimes. But he’s not racing this weekend and opportunities this summer appear to be limited at best.
“They say they are supposed to start the first of July in Fredericton, and we have a couple of dates during the exhibition week, apparently the end of August,” Barrieau said.
In years past, there was sometimes racing in Saint John all year. But the grandstand was demolished years ago, and most of the barns that were once filled with horses are now empty.
Horses and racers have moved to more profitable venues in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Maine.
“Right now it’s been confirmed that we can at least keep it for a training centre, so down the road if we change harness racing around and it comes back, we’ve got the place to come back to,” said harness racer Wayne Mahar.
But the racetrack needs work. Debbie Mahar grew up around the racetrack. She’s organizing a fundraising auction on Friday to resurface the track.
“We have to keep our track maintained. If we’re here for a year, two years, or whatever the future holds, the track has to be maintained daily to ensure the quality and safeness of our horses,” said racer Debbie Mahar.
There are only about 30 horses left on the Saint John grounds. That isn’t enough to fill out a race card, so if there is racing in Saint John later this summer, horses will have to be brought in from Fredericton and elsewhere in the Maritimes.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron
