New Brunswick horsemen are trying to launch another harness racing season, but it is proving difficult as more people get out of the business or move to more lucrative racetracks.
Rick Armstrong still trains horses at Saint John’s Exhibition Park but has spent more time on the road in recent years.
“Well, we made 22 trips to Charlottetown last year, but we didn’t race every day that we made those trips,” says Armstrong. “Sometimes we were moving horses around or whatever and we were to Truro a couple of times.”
Charlie Miles of the Fredericton Horsemen’s Association has been at the Fredericton Raceway for more than four decades. He says the New Brunswick government has turned its back on harness racing and the industry is now a fraction of what it once was.
“A low horse population, low expectations, and low morale really has not done harness racing in New Brunswick any good whatsoever,” says Miles. “It almost brings me to tears to see the harness racing industry fall on such hard times as it has.”
Fredericton horsemen are hoping for three race dates this year while those in Saint John are anticipating 10 dates.
At one time, racetracks across the Maritimes hosted races twice a week almost year-round. Saint John councillor Gerry Lowe says government lotteries, VLTs and online gambling have drained money from harness racing in New Brunswick, while some provinces continue to thrive.
“It was the only game in town. It was a Wednesday or Saturday night,” says Lowe, a former horse owner and racing enthusiast.
“You drive from the bridge to Charlottetown, you’ll see training tracks. Everyone has race horses in the backyard and the government supports it. Actually, the government supports it with two racinos – one in Charlottetown and one in Summerside – but New Brunswick is not like that.”
While they prepare for a reduced racing season, racetrack veterans are left wondering how much longer harness racing can survive in New Brunswick.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
