The deteriorating situation in New Brunswick between the Fredericton Exhibition and the province’s horse racing body has been front and centre on the Standardbred Canada website over the course of the past few months, but the situation has recently started to get more mainstream media attention in local outlets.

A lockout, an announcement of solidarity, a court injunction and an extension of that injunction have provided clear evidence that Fredericton Exhibition Limited (the operators of the exhibition grounds) and Horse Racing New Brunswick have much work to do if they are to return to an amicable relationship going forward.

News broke earlier this month that HRNB was looking to have an existing Fredericton facility rezoned in order to become one of the new homes of the organization’s video lottery terminals. The application was subsequently voted down – city council is expected to vote on that recommendation on June 27.

Earlier this week, HRNB announced that exhibition officials had refused to turn the water on for barn, track, and horse safety, and that the scheduled July 1 program at Fredericton was at risk. Just hours after that announcement, HRNB stated that Fredericton officials then turned the water on. New Brunswick Provincial Exhibition Executive Director Mike Vokey then issued a release which stated that his organization does in fact want live racing to continue at Fredericton Raceway.

Global News has ran a follow-up article about the situation that focuses on how the horsepeople in the province have essentially become the collateral damage in the whole ordeal.

The article contains quotes from New Brunswick Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association President Sam Hodgin, whose group previously announced that it supports HRNB in the situation. Regardless of that support, Hodgin wants the two sides to figure things out.

“I’m just hoping that the two sides, Fredericton Exhibition and Horse Racing New Brunswick realize that the only way that we’re going to go forward is to work together,” Hodgin said. “Not try to take from one another.”

He went on to say that both HRNB and the Fredericton Exhibition are “both working hard to try to run their own business, but the horsemen are the ones right now that are kind of — we really don’t have any say in it, but we’re the ones being affected by losing our race dates (only three at Fredericton this year, which is a decrease from previous years).”

(With files from Global News)