Kawartha Downs Not Done Yet

When the Ontario Racing Commission issued race dates for 2014 earlier this month, one track that raced in 2013 was not on this year's list: Kawartha Downs.

In March, ORC Chair Elmer Buchanan told Trot Insider that the Peterborough-area oval was still in the mix for hosting live harness racing in 2014. One month later, when proposed race dates were announced for Ontario's tracks, Kawartha Downs was not on the docket.

On Tuesday, Buchanan provided an update on Kawartha Downs and noted that "discussions regarding Kawartha are still underway." While Buchanan wasn't at liberty to offer specifics, he did state that he has been "reassured that discussions, if not negotiations are ongoing" and confirmed that "money has been set aside for Kawartha racing this year."

Two race date announcements for Ontario were released in late March - early April; one set was proposed dates, one set was approved dates. The tracks whose dates were proposed but haven't yet been approved are Sudbury Downs and the South-Western regional tracks -- Dresden Raceway, Hiawatha Horse Park and Leamington Raceway. Buchanan noted that that the discussions with these four tracks are "much further along" than the discussions regarding racing at Kawartha.