Harness Racing B.C. Executive Director Jackson Wittup has said that with a five-year deal for horse racing in the province, the industry will have the chance to explore other options in regard to summer racing opportunities.
The province’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch still has to ratify the five-year deal. Racing at Fraser Downs is currently underway on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons, with 34 race days approved for the January-April time frame. Thirty-seven additional race days will be scheduled for the September-December time frame at Fraser Downs.
An article by the Cloverdale Reporter has cited Wittup as saying the five-year deal will allow HRBC to explore further racing possibilities.
“We’ve been given time to go out and execute some of those options for our members’ sake,” Wittup was quoted as saying. “Could we possibly race two months during the summer at Kamloops or another venue? Obviously, there’s a cost.”
Wittup was also cited as saying that it is a possibility that races could be held at another track. “There have been exhibition standardbred races in Chilliwack,” Wittup was quoted as saying.
(With files from the Cloverdale Reporter)