Gagne, Dumont Back In Alberta

After a stint in Ontario, one of Alberta's most formidable stables from the last decade has returned to Western Canada for the 2021 harness racing season. And for J.F. Gagne, it feels like home.

The longtime horseman, who weathered it out through some of Alberta's most challenging times, made the move to Ontario with wife Marjorie Dumont in late 2018 in hopes of competing in a more stable racing environment. While 2019 provided that stability, no one could be prepared for the upheaval the industry faced in 2020. That spring shutdown, followed by this most recent pause over the winter, provided many participants with hard decisions.

"When we stopped last spring, it was a little hard because horses [were] off for like three months, and when we got going again it was stakes season," Gagne told Trot Insider. "And I have a barn of racehorses; no stake horses. Due to COVID-19, it was very hard to get in with most of them more than twice a month. I’m like ‘Okay, we’re going to be patient.' And when the fall and winter comes with the category of horses I have, it's a good window. Anyway, we toughed it out and it started coming around in the fall. They wrote some classes that I could get into pretty steadily at Mohawk. We were looking for an upswing, then that’s when the second [shutdown] happened.

"Before it happened, everybody was talking about it. We were all guessing...what should we do? Should we sell horses? The guessing game gets tiring. And the same thing with the partners and the horses; when the second shutdown happened, I was obviously going to lose another month or two of strategic racing for me, which is right at the heart of the winter. The kids couldn’t go to school, and so our life became very difficult. Like two days, three days after the shutdown, they scratched the horses that were entered, and we decided we had to make something different because we want to come out alive through all of this. I’m still supporting the farm in Alberta, and I have that tremendous expense in Ontario. So those together with no racing? It just couldn’t be done."

Gagne and Dumont sold some of their Ontario stock before the move, and then headed west back to the Edmonton area farm that -- fortunately for them -- was still on the market and not sold from the move to Ontario in 2018.

Gagne and Tajmeallover winning at Century Downs

"I came back here with a full trailer -- Tajmeallover; she’s 10 now, and some young ones that were about ready to qualify -- and then I had some that were starting to jog here again. So we decided to come and look after the farm. It’s $10,000 a month cheaper for me to be here between rent and feed. We put that in gear. It was scary to move in the middle of winter because it’s a big, big trip. But we got very lucky. Out of 46 hours of driving, we might have hit snow only for two.

"When I pulled back into the yard here, there was a huge feeling of tension release. I was curious to see what it was going to do to me, and that’s what it did."

With his grounded approach and good nature, Gagne was able to see the irony in how the timing of his Ontario move was just ahead of the longest shutdown the industry had faced -- a move that was prompted by a difficulty in finding opportunity to race his talented team in his home province.

"You know what, and I’m just laughing about it, my move to Ontario was basically the worse timing ever, because I don’t think they’ve shut down racing in Ontario for 75 years. It turned out to be a bad timing, but the thing is that was bad for everybody. What’re you going to do, you know? It is what it is."

Heading into spring and the start of the 2021 racing season with nine horses, Gagne is patiently waiting for the Standardbred season to start at Century Downs. The first date for live racing in Balzac is scheduled for Sunday, March 28.

"We’re going with nine right now, and we’re thinking of keeping it a little bit smaller for a little while and see what happens," noted Gagne. "When we did the move, I gave [my racehorses] three weeks off. So I’m going to bring them back slowly. I may not even be ready right at the get go. We’re kind of regrouping and hope that we can go forward again.

"We only got one offer on the farm, and it was a low-ball offer. It also wasn’t the best for real estate in the last year. So it wasn’t listed anymore. Just being away from the farm and now being back, we’re almost wondering if we didn’t miss the farm more than anything else."

While being back in Alberta is providing Gagne and his family with a sense of comfort and relief, he was quick to admit he'll miss the racing industry in Ontario.

"To be honest with you, I really miss racing at Mohawk. The other tracks, it’s very similar to here. So it’s very comparable, like the track conditions and the purses and the type of driving. But Mohawk, for a harness driver, is pretty hard to beat. The thrill is still there when you win a race there."

And there will most certainly be a thrill when Gagne and Dumont get back on the track in Alberta, whether that's as a team or in a race against each other with stable standouts the likes of older pacing mares and former Alberta Horse of the Year winners Tajmeallover and Outlaw Fireball.

Majorie Dumont (inside with Watch My Luck) and J.F. Gagne (outside with Outlaw Fireball) competing at Century Downs

"[Marjorie] said if we had two in a race -- if we had Tajmealover and Outlaw Fireball on the track, she’ll drive Outlaw Fireball."