This afternoon Harness Horsemen International issued the following release in response to the 2009 contract dispute between the Woodbine Entertainment Group and the Ontario Harness Horse Association.
On Tuesday, December 30, 2008, the Executive Board of Harness Horsemen International met by telephonic conference call and unanimously adopted the following resolution;
"Harness Horsemen International pledges all of its resources and support for our fellow horsemen and horsewomen in Ontario as they work through this very difficult contract negotiation with the Woodbine Entertainment Group. H.H.I. unequivocally supports O.H.H.A. and all Ontario horsemen who have been left with no other alternative than to withhold their entries starting with the January 1, 2009 racing program.
W.E.G.'s demand that O.H.H.A. abandon their responsibility that ensures its member's due process rights is offensive and unacceptable. If O.H.H.A. or any other horseman's association were to do what W.E.G. is demanding they would be abdicating the most fundamental responsibility of a horsemen's association. Due process is an inalienable right enjoyed by all horsemen, Canadian and American alike, to surrender that would reduce horsemen to second class citizens and that is never an option. O.H.H.A. is protecting its membership by establishing sufficient racing opportunities and simulcasting revenues necessary to maintain a vibrant and healthy agriculturally based Standardbred industry in the province of Ontario and throughout Canada. H.H.I. supports O.H.H.A. and their actions needed to protect their members and their rights!"
H.H.I. is a trade association made up of various harness horsemen associations throughout the United States and Canada. Currently H.H.I. represents horsemen from Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
(HHI)
It was interesting to note
It was interesting to note while checking out the results of the New Year's Day program at Woodbine Raceway that there were no Jody Jamiesons, Paul Macdonells, Mark MacDonalds or Bill O'Donnells on the program. These guys are the stars of the sport. Obviously, they don't want to give away their hard-earned rights.
In reply to It was interesting to note by Doug Harkness (not verified)
also interesting to note
also interesting to note that without their participation on 5 JAN that the fields were slightly smaller yet the handle was up and the bettor's appeared to have an easier time handicapping according to the parimutual payouts. gee i wonder what the bettor's feel about their lack of participation!
OHHA denies ever defending
OHHA denies ever defending anyone who ever had a positive test. If you were at the meetings recently, all the "rumors" that people have been hearing would have been put to rest.
OHHA's position is of due process, which we as Canadians fought in two World Wars to get, not in defending people who do illegal acts.
WEG's position is to bypass due process and wants the right to deny entries from anyone for any reason without explanation. Not something our parents and grandparents fought and died for.
could have used a little
could have used a little help from the HHI out in Alberta recently.
This is an e-mail that I
This is an e-mail that I sent to OHHA on Jan. 28 /08
As a member of OHHA, I would like to voice my opinion concerning the negotiations with WEG.
This organization should be at the forefront when it comes to protecting our horses. We know that there are trainers that use drugs and chemicals that are clearly detrimental to the horses well being; yet it is my understanding that OHHA has paid to defend the persons responsible.
This certainly gives the impression that the horse is less a consideration than the perpetrator.
WEG makes a valid point that there is a very real perception that there are trainers using performance enhancing drugs to gain an unfair advantage, which has to be taken into account while attempting to handicap a race . We are losing both fan base and handle in spite of having the slots that were suppose to bring new fans to the race tracks.
In my opinion OHHA, Weg, and the ORC must act together to most importantly, protect the horse and secondly to restore confidence in the integrity of our sport. The cheaters are literally stealing money(purse) from all the honest trainers and chasing away our fan base.
I would hope that our organization OHHA would lead the way in this regard:
Sincerely;
Edward Wilson
In reply to This is an e-mail that I by Edward Wilson (not verified)
It is true that there is a
It is true that there is a very real perception about certain trainers using drugs to gain an unfair advantage and handicappers must take that into account while handicapping a race, which is without question detrimental to the sport. The cheaters are most definitely chasing away the fan base but not just the cheaters using drugs. What about the trainers who go "an easy trip" with a young horse early in his career or season? Handicappers certainly have to take into account that a young horse in his first few starts of the season may be out on the track to get a couple starts "under their belt" before they are really used hard in a race. I've heard trainers and drivers say numerous times how a certain horse had a few "easy trips" early in their season. Which is to me an admission of "Lack of effort". This happens countless times with many "honest" trainers every year. Trainers who aren't considered to be amongst the ones using performance enhancing drugs but is that not cheating? Yet the only trainers constantly called cheaters are the ones thought to be using drugs. If harness racing wants to regain its credibility, it NEEDS to weed out ALL the cheaters. The trainers using drugs and the trainers who aren't racing "all out" in EVERY start.
In reply to It is true that there is a by Kansas Snow (not verified)
could'nt have said it any
could'nt have said it any better myself! This is something the judges have to start doing something about but as long as you have mostly industry people in those positions i don't believe anything will change!