“We Were Devastated As A Family”

The CBC has followed up on the Trot Insider exclusive which broke the news of the peril the Newfoundland harness racing industry is facing as it comes eye to eye with its end.

This past Sunday, Trot Magazine Editor Darryl Kaplan broke the news of Newfoundland’s plight.

"We were devastated as a family," the CBC has quoted horse owner and racing participant Michelle Mitchum as saying. "Our whole summers from March when we start training right up until November are at the track."

In regard to her family’s involvement in Newfoundland’s horse racing industry, Mitchum said, "It's more of the love of the sport, the loyalty of the sport and the enjoyment of the horses," adding, "we've never made any money. It costs us a great deal of money to keep five horses fed."

Keith Gowan, the president of the Newfoundland Harness Horse Owners Association, has outlined to both Kaplan and the CBC how the financials in the provincial industry are currently at a point that makes continuing under the current model impossible.

Gowan has stated that the NHHOA is working with the government to find a solution.

(With files from the CBC)