Ted Smith, CEO of Standardbred Canada, opened the second inaugural wagering conference this morning with a few words of encouragement, pushing the group of attendees to make the meeting a stepping off point for change in the industry

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Smith stressed the need for all parties to cooperate in order to achieve success.

"It's important that we work together to promote our product," he said.

"There is a real threat of racing becoming an undesirable appendage of racetracks," Smith pointed out. "Many people involved in our industry have a stake in the status quo."

Maintaining that status quo clearly depends on bringing some satisfaction to the customer, he suggested, thanking the horseplayers for their attendance.

"Horseplayers -- it's so important to listen to their views on what they're offering and what we can do to change their product."

His introduction, short and sweet, ended with a challenge.

"Today, racing clearly needs unification and we need to hear the facts of life," stressed Smith. "Hopefully people will ask the tough questions while we are here. It's easy to answer the easy questions. It's tough to ask and answer the tough questions."