The harness racing season for Alberta will feature 122 race dates and a stakes season with over

$2 million in purses.

Northlands Park will feature 47 days of racing, with the 31-day Winter 2010 Meet kicking off on February 5 and running through to April 11. The racing will then shift to a 50-day meet for Lacombe's Alberta Downs from May 8 to August 29, followed by a 25-day meet from September 3 to October 24 at Grande Prairie's Evergreen Park. Northlands will close out the year with 16 dates from November 19 to December 19.

"ASHA would like to thank its members for being patient during this process," Executive Director Fred Gillis told Trot Insider. "In these economic times everyone has to explore more options as costs go up and revenues go down. Although the process took a little than ASHA would have liked, I believe Northlands and our members will be satisfied with the results."

The stakes schedule starts on April 9 with the Wild Rose Pace, and the biggest day of racing will undoubtedly December 4 with four $100,000 Battle of Alberta Finals.

Next week, Horse Racing Alberta's Chair Shirley McClellan will talk about the 2010 race dates and more on an episode of Trot Radio.

To view the calendar of racing in PDF format, click here. For the stakes schedule, click here.