With sires stakes ready to kick off this weekend at Evergreen Park, Trot Insider has spoken with Alberta Standardbred Horse Association executive director Fred Gillis for an update on how the racing meet has been coming along in Grande Prairie, Alta

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"Things are progressing pretty well," Gillis said. "There are currently more horses here than ever and it's pretty tight, but everyone involved is making the proper sacrifices given the situation."

Gillis told Trot Insider that with the thoroughbred and quarter horses on the grounds with the standardbreds, there are roughly 950 horses at the track. "The current moral is the greatest that I have ever seen [at Evergreen Park]," he explained.

With the glut of horses on the premises, time on the track during the mornings is at an absolute premium. Gillis told Trot Insider that specific time allotments are being worked out so that horsemen can have adequate time to get various types of miles into their horses during the early hours.

"The racing itself has been really good," Gillis said of the pari-mutuel events. "The track is in great shape and the drivers have been able to be aggressive. We've seen some horses go some really good miles.

"To no fault of the people at Evergreen whatsoever, there is one issue with the track, though, which has been affecting the handle. The track is only wide enough for six horses to be on the gate, and only one trailer can follow behind. Also, there are no trailers allowed for maidens. The inevitable field-size restriction has proven to affect the handle. Smaller field sizes hinder the pool sizes, generally, and we have also seen the exotics affected."

With sires stakes action on tap this weekend, Gillis said that the horsemen are licking their proverbial chops. "We're very optimistic about these races themselves," he said. "This is what we all get in the game for; this is why we go to the yearling sales and buy the babies; this is why we're up at the crack of dawn in the middle of the winter getting these babies ready."

There will be five divisions of the Alberta Princess for three-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday. One of the races has had to be classified as a non-wagering event. Gillis told Trot Insider that even though it is unfortunate the field sizes may not be big, at least it ensures that there is enough money up for grabs overall. Click here to view Saturday's entries at Evergreen Park. To view the field of the non-wagering event, click here.

The three-year-old pacing colts will mix it up in five divisions of the Alberta Plainsman on Sunday. To view the Sunday entries, click here

Gillis noted that the video signal of the simulcast has been 100 per cent better than what it was in 2008, but that there has been a sporadic growing pain with the audio. He explained that the audio has cut out on some occasions. Gillis stated that technicians have located the issue and it is now just a matter of it being rectified.