In an announcement made Wednesday (April 7), the Board of Harness Racing B.C. has been forced to drop a number of race dates from the end of the April 2021 calendar.
As reported here on Monday, the horse racing industry recently asked the provincial government for assistance with purses, given that the expanded gaming channels that provide much of the funding for the purse pool -- B.C.'s casinos -- have been closed since March 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. That request was denied.
The current meet will now end on Friday, April 16, with HRBC dropping dates on April 21, 23, 28 and 30. The statement from HRBC is as follows.
The recent decision by the BC NDP government to not assist the BC horse racing industry with funding, along with increasing financial obligations, has forced the HRBC Board to make the difficult decision to cancel the four last remaining dates of racing in April (April 21, 23, 28 & 30). The current meet will end with the program of Friday, April 16, 2021. HRBC will continue to work with the resources available to us in seeking alternative ways of supporting our industry and will advise as we move forward.