Concerns With ORC Proposals

Published: December 19, 2010 09:03 am EST

First of all, I applaud the ORC for their efforts to improve harness racing. I have very limited knowledge of the details of the new plan but I think I understand most of what they are trying to do and I believe some of the changes would be positive but I do have concerns with two parts of it.

The first is with a plan that would send purse money from Woodstock to Windsor. When I look at the race results from Windsor Raceway I see that the majority of the purse money is going to the US. I don't know what the exact figures are but I have heard it is about 60 per cent or more of the purse money leaving Ontario. I am not protectionist at all and I have no problem with Americans racing in Canada but in this case it doesn't make sense to take purse money from the Woodstock area, send it down to Windsor and have most of it go to the US from there. As the ORC says, this is public money so it should be used wisely.

My second concern is with regards to conditions being the same at all tracks; conditions like last 3 starts, money earned-not wins and purse management (limits on purse money). My opinion here comes strictly from a horseman's point of view.

To turn a profit in the horse business you have to run it like a business and a big part of that is being able to classify your horses where they can make money. Historically, claiming races have been the best way to do this. An owner or trainer had some control over their destiny by entering their horse in a class where it could make money.

For some reason, claiming races in Ont. have become scarce in the last few years and the only other way that a trainer can classify his horse to his best advantage and have some kind of control over his fortunes is to enter him at the track that suits him best. The size of the track could be a factor, the way the conditions are written, etc. As a trainer, I like having these options. Their is nothing more frustrating than trucking a hundred
or more miles down the road to race your horse in a class that you know he has no shot in.

Having the same conditions at all tracks such as earnings in last three starts, takes the bat out of the hands of the trainer. When each track has different conditions like last three, last five, etc., a trainer can classify his horse at the track where he has the best chance to make money with that particular horse on that particular day.

I also dislike the idea of every track having the same conditions for young horses based solely on winnings and not wins. Again, this limits the options of a trainer. With each track having a different set of conditions a trainer can race his young horse where it is best suited. I realize the thinking is that an owner, trainer, driver might try to keep his horse in a nw1, nw2 etc but that is a matter of opinion and that is what we have judges for.

Again these opinions are coming strictly from a horseman's point of view but to run a business profitably you must have options.

As far as having limits on purse money at some tracks, I think of certain horses that perform well on a half mile track. An owner can have a horse that is a good open performer on a small track but very mediocre on the big one. Where the owner and trainer choose to race this horse can be the difference between making good money or just breaking even. It doesn't seem fair to punish this type of horse. I understand the intent of the proposed changes in this regard but care should be taken not to put up barriers to horsepeople trying to make money.

These are some of my concerns and I am sure there are lots of other opinions out there. The ORC has asked for our input so we should take advantage of that.

Have something to say about this? Log in or create an account to post a comment.