After it was announced this week that Meridian Farms is relocating its Western Canadian stallions to the east coast and that Bill Andrew is stepping away from both the Alberta Standardbred Horse Association and Horse Racing Alberta, Bill's brother, Brian, has gone on the record in regard to the stallion exodus
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In an article by the CBC, Brian, also of Meridian, was quoted as saying that "it's kind of a sad note that we're shutting things down in Calgary" and that the stalled Balzac development has a lot to do with the stallion relocation.
“We were very optimistic that there would be a new track built, in fact the plans were there and they did start construction with some barns, but it basically hasn't happened," Brian was quoted as saying.
"So what you have is you have a large centre, very prosperous centre like Calgary with no live racing, and as a result the harness racing industry has been on the decline in there.”
Also, an article by Nick Oakes in The Guardian states that Meridian is looking to add a new trotting stallion to its east coast stud offerings.
Related Stories
• Andrew Steps Away From ASHA, HRA
• Meridian Stallions Move East
Sometimes I feel like those
Sometimes I feel like those of us in the West are trapped on an Island. And to just to veer off course a little bit,can someone tell me why the only horses that show up for sale on the SC Sales site are from the East. I'd like to see the Western Standardbred owners put some on this site too. I know horses move around here from one barn to another for reasonable prices, but why not put some on the SC website
Another sad, but
Another sad, but understandable, loss for Alberta and Western Canada.