Robson Takes Leave For Politics

Veterinarian Dr. Chris Robson, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party’s candidate for the London-Fanshawe riding, is no stranger to the Ontario horse racing industry. He grew up around runners, has owned parts of successful Standardbreds, and has been helping keep equine stock healthy for years at his successful equine clinic.

While Dr. Robson’s back class in the racing world speaks for itself, the 52-year-old is looking to jump up to the MPP ranks – a move that the father of two is tackling head on.

“Veterinary medicine is about helping people, and so is politics,” Dr. Robson recently told Trot Insider. “I enjoy my job, and as much as I enjoy my job, I welcome the challenge of bringing positive change to Ontario.”

Those that have trained Standardbreds to reach racing’s grandest stages know that change, adaptability and determination are necessary keys on the road to success. Dr. Robson has told Trot Insider that he is not looking to take an easy path to the Ontario Parliament – he’s looking to cut his own route, and his actions in that regard are speaking louder than his words.

“Even though May is a busy month (for Ilderton Equine Services, which he is co-founder of), effective Thursday, May 8, I am taking a leave for the next five weeks,” Dr. Robson explained. “It is a sacrifice, but I think it’s worth it.”

Dr. Robson is an Ontario Racing Commission-licenced veterinarian and has extensive roots in the province’s racing and equine industry, but he has been making strides to become well versed in politics since stepping forward to represent the Ontario PCs. He told Trot Insider that he has been making regular visits down to Queen’s Park for more than a year and has gone through candidate school to prepare him for what may lie ahead if he is ultimately elected into office on June 12.

“I grew up around horses. My parents raised Thoroughbreds and I’ve always had a fascination with racehorses,” Dr. Robson said. “From that point of view, I’ve had a fascination with trying to buy a yearling and catch that lightning in a bottle, so to speak. I had a little bit of luck back in 1981 when I bought Homemade Lovin out of Kentucky. She ended up being aged mare pacer of the year as a four-year-old. I sold my share out along the way, but she was probably one of the better ones. I owned a part of one when I was a student, actually – a pretty honest race mare by the name of Lady Samantha. She raced around Flamboro, London and Windsor. Other than that, there were a few that we broke even on here and there. We had a lot of fun. It’s a great business and I would hate to see it go down the tubes because of government mismanagement.”

Although Dr. Robson appears to have elected office in his pedigree, he is taking nothing for granted. He explained that, if elected, he would be the fourth generation of his family to serve publicly. The doctor’s great-great uncle, Captain Tom Robson, was elected a PC MPP back in 1901. “(About a year and a half ago) I had initially thought about it (running for office) for about a month. I said to myself, ‘The Lord hates a coward – I’m going to throw my hat in the ring.’ So, here we are.”

Dr. Robson is the first to admit that he has focused more on his London-area clinic over politics in the past 35 years. “I’m probably one of those guys that looked at politics with one eye closed and one ear shut,” he said, adding that his colleagues in the equine industry have been supportive since hearing about his bid to enter the political realm.

While the equine community has been supportive of his campaign in terms of volunteering and trying to help out, Dr. Robson said that raising campaign dollars for his push is somewhat challenging and definitely something new. “It’s a little different game,” he said, with a brief laugh. “The fundraising is the hard part. I’m used to chasing people that owe me money and it’s a little harder to chase people that don’t owe you money.”

When asked about the direct feedback he has received from the racing industry when it comes to his campaign, Dr. Robson offered a brief quip, but one that he says contains an important point. “Maybe they thought ‘Hey Doc, it’s time you do something different,’” the veterinarian said, purely tongue in cheek. “All kidding aside, the feedback was positive. Whether it is agriculture related or racing related, you can never have too many friends at Queen’s Park when it comes to that.”

Racing-related issues aside, Dr. Robson told Trot Insider that, after knocking on doors, the major issues London-Fanshawe voters have raised to him are hydro rates and jobs. “Government wasting would probably be third,” he said.

Trot Insider asked Dr. Robson what feedback he has received from the general public when he has raised the topic of Ontario horse racing on the campaign trail. Does the general public know about the racing issues? How do they feel about the cancellation of the Slots-at-Racetracks program? How do they feel about the Liberal Government’s plan for the future of Ontario racing?

“Actually, it’s 50/50,” he explained. “There are members of the general public that don’t like what the Liberals have done to the horse racing industry, and then there are people that don’t care. We were never on a subsidy before – it (the SARP program) was revenue sharing through the slots – and now we are a subsidy, and that has upset a lot of people.”

Dr. Robson stated that the tone on the campaign trail has been positive and that voters appear eager to make their presence felt at the polls. “When I first started going around, people would say, ‘Oh, is there going to be an election already?’ But this spring, people are really anxious.”

The veterinarian has said that he is well versed in horsepeople’s excuses to not vote. Regardless of how people choose to vote, Dr. Robson is calling for an end to the absentees. “Let’s show how strong we are as an industry. If there are 40-50,000 people left we all have friends, neighbours, and relatives. It is imperative that we take this election very seriously.

“I would recommend that as many people as possible vote at advance polls. We all know the scenarios where ‘The blacksmith was late, then I had to get to Grand River and by the time I got home the polls were closed.’ No Excuse this time! Get out to that advance poll and talk to that distant cousin or estranged wife.”