New Brunswick’s horse-racing season has been off and running for a few weeks, but there are fewer races scheduled and more empty stalls this year.
Sandra Foley races her horse Ride-the-Magic. She has participated in the sport since childhood and remembers how things used to be.
“I remember when I first got here we had 39 race dates and we could race a horse twice a week,” says Foley.
The number of race dates at the Fredericton Raceway has been dropping the past few years - from 16 races held in 2012 to 13 races held last year, down to nine planned for this year.
Shrinking budgets in the industry means travelling has become essential for horse owners who are trying to break even.
“So now we’re down to travelling with 23 or 24 race dates and back then, there was no travelling from now until October,” says Foley.
A provincial election will take place in New Brunswick in September and many in the industry are interested in how the political parties will address the issue of horse racing going forward.
“The industry is not looking for a handout, it’s looking for a long-term partnership and long-term sustainability plan, which we believe is in the Red Shores model in P.E.I.,” says Mitchell Downey, president of Horse Racing New Brunswick.
Downey says politicians in New Brunswick need to look at the model in Prince Edward Island, which he says proves that horse racing can be beneficial to bottom lines.
“That for every dollar of taxpayers’ money they invest, they get $10 returned,” says Downey.
Foley says, while the industry may be struggling, there is still hope.
“The optimism comes in because we’re hopeful that a better structure and better plan, after this year might invite the people back that have been here and absolutely loved it,” she says.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore
