While the Vancouver area didn't get a great result from the Canucks on Wednesday night, the local horse racing scene in British Columbia couldn't be more pleased. The British Columbia Government has officially announced the Standardbred 2012 Race Season

will be twice a week for 10 months with a total of 82 race days.

The two months off and the two days per week schedule is still to be finalized.

"We have been able to convince the government that we need to help our breeding section and our horse racing areas as far as jobs are concerned and as far as families are concerned as we've been seeing that by only racing six months of the year people could not survive," Harness Racing BC CEO Doug McCallum told Trot Radio's Norm Borg.

In addition, the Government has agreed to reinstate six of the 12 cancelled days to the Fall (October to December) portion of the 2011 season. Specifically, this means there will be race days on the following Saturdays (October 8, 15, 22, 29 & November 5 and 15). As a result of this decision, the overall 2011 Standardbred race season is 76 race days.

In an interview taped late last week, McCallum also indicated that HRBC would continue to improve the breed in B.C. by purchasing broodmares for resale to the local harness racing industry.

"We have our program where in past years we've bought three or four broodmares in the Eastern U.S., and this year the Board says now that we have ten months we have to get our breeding going," stated McCallum. "We're going to out and probably buy up to 15 broodmares, and we feel very strongly that we have to get some more horse racing in here so they've also approved 12-15 racehorses."

Harness Racing BC "would like to thank the Government notably Ministers Bond, Falcon & Coleman for listening and acting on the concerns in the standardbred industry. By your actions, you have saved thousands of jobs and kept families together."

The full interview with Borg and McCallum is available below.

Episode 204 – Harness Racing B.C. CEO Doug McCallum

Audio Format: MP3 audio

Host: Norm Borg

Please note that the opinions expressed in the featured interview are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect Rideau Carleton Raceway and/or Standardbred Canada.

(Photo credit: Cloverdale Reporter)