Officials with Horse Racing New Brunswick (HRNB) announced on Wednesday (May 4) a significant purse increase for the upcoming 2022 harness racing season.

With reduced race dates this year, HRNB felt it was important to give owners and trainers an opportunity to race for more money while keeping competitive with other tracks, like in P.E.I. and Maine.

This year, the minimum purse will be $1,800, which represents an 80 per cent increase from last year. The top class will race for between $2,500-$2,800 based on the number of starters, which is also a significant increase from last year. These increases come during yet another year of harness racing in the province without any government support.

Officials are hopeful that the eased travel restrictions along with the purse increases will help entice horsepeople to come to New Brunswick to race and that this will give local horses a chance to race for good money while also getting an opportunity to support harness racing in other places such as P.E.I. and Maine.

(With files from HRNB)