Standardbred Dates For Northlands In 2009

Of course the thoroughbreds bring in more money. They get the prime dates, they get the best TV dates and they get the newspaper coverage. When the harness horsemen are shafted off to Grande Prairie there is no racing entries or results in the papers. HRA at first would not pay for simulcast coverage. No one knows where the horses are racing or when they are racing. Give harness racing the coverage the thoroughbreds get and see what they can generate. Thoroughbred racing might be the "sport of kings" but I know very few kings and lots of common folk that enjoy harness racing the sport of the ordinary man.

"Only room for one breed" ... Where on earth are you getting that idea from and how do explain the last 40 years or so where both breeds coexisted perfectly well? Yes, the thoroughbreds are bringing in more handle than the standardbreds, but the numbers for BOTH have plummeted and probably at a similar corresponding rate. The years of uncertainty have taken their toll on the entire racing industry and the quality of the product. It should have never come to this "choosing" as you call it.

Give your head a shake...I don't know who you are, but if I am ever at a race track at the same time you are, I will recognize you because you will be the one with your head buried in the sand. Putting all of your eggs in one basket and doing away with an entire breed and genre of horse racing is rediculous.

If we all work together, we can have an industry that is second to none. ALL horsemen...thoroghbreds and standradbreds alike. It is this mentality that has caused horse racing to go down the drain in other provinces and it will happen here too. Time to wake up and smell the coffee man....this kind of talk is dangerous to the sport.

There is room for only one breed in Alberta because Horse Race Alberta approved a 10 year license with a racetrack that was suppose to be completed in 2004 but due to poor planning among other things, it still won't be ready for 2009. The Alberta Standardbreds are the only breed negatively affected by the neglegence of the HRA Board. If the thoroughbreds were forced to share the burden of the so called 'transition years' which looks to be 5 yrs and counting and had to send their best stock in the Province to race on a B Track during the winter months with no summer racing, race maximum 6 horse fields every race due to the inadequate track design which cannot accommodate a full field, while racing for half the purse money, double the shipping and living expenses,include no advertising or signage and I will guarantee you the results would be the same, regardless of breed. If the HRA Board was a little less PRO THOROUGHBRED/NORTHLANDS and cared at all about Standardbreds, we would be seeing both breeds equally sharing the hard times created by HRA and Balzac Management. Instead they have decided to look after only one breed in Alberta and they couldn't care less what becomes of the other, it's criminal!

WOW!!! Finally someone with some sense. Listen to this person. The best predictor of future bahaviour is past behaviour...time for the powers that be to take a look around before it is to late. It happened in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, what makes Alberta so different that this kind of mentality is not going to destroy a great industry because of prejudice and greed. Get your heads out of the sands before it is to late....There really is room for both racing breeds and then everyone wins. THINK ABOUT IT....USE YOUR HEADS....
To the writer of the above article: Thank you for your sensible view points. Maybe it is people like you that should be making decisions...we would all be alot better off.