Greg Walling, one of the three Board members that oversees operations at Kawartha Downs, has offered his comments on the Fraserville, Ont. track’s 2015 season of live racing, which concluded this past Saturday night.

Kawartha’s Saturday card was highlighted by a drivers’ challenge that was won by pilot Tony Kerwood in front of a solid crowd that braved through rainy conditions. The program may have pulled the curtain on the track’s 2015 live campaign, but Walling has told the Peterborough Examiner that Kawartha’s operators are committed to bringing in new customers and reinvesting in the existing facility.

“What has really pleased us is we're bringing in a lot of people who have never been to harness racing before… We've got new people interested in harness racing,” said Walling, who added that Heather MacKay, in particular, has put together dynamic marketing activities that get families and members of younger demographics out to the track.

“It's always a work in progress, but Mr. Ambrose (Kawartha Downs’ owner, Harvey ‘Skip’ Ambrose) invested back into the building,” said Walling. “The dining room was painted and new chairs and serving tables purchased. There are brand new TVs. All the barns were painted inside and out. Often Mr. Ambrose gets overlooked, but he's certainly invested a lot of time and money into this and so has minister (MPP Jeff) Leal.”

The article has quoted Walling as saying that Kawartha Downs will host live racing in 2016.

“Our attendance is up and our betting volume is up and we're still viewed as one of the more successful tracks in Ontario right now,” he said.

(With files from the Peterborough Examiner)