Despite Struggles, NB Horses Thriving

"There is so much potential in New Brunswick with the horses that our industry continues to turn out year after year, even with all the uncertainty. It comes down to wanting to invest in a winning industry, and horse racing is just that."

In a letter sent Friday morning, Horse Racing New Brunswick points out the recent successes by New Brunswick-based horses.

"We need government to realize that the horse racing industry to be sustainable, and with a small investment, is a money-making venture and provides the provincial coffers with a positive return on investment."

The letter, written by Scott Waddell, for Horse Racing New Brunswick, appears below.

Stakes season in the Maritimes is underway and in the three-year-old divisions colts and fillies, New Brunswick owned and foaled pacers are already making their mark on the 2013 season.

Recently at Red Shores Charlottetown in the Maritime Breeders finals, New Brunswick based horses are showing their potential and two in particular are early stake champions.

As most readers are aware, the operators of horse racing in our province is without funding from the provincial government this season which has forced the cancellations of all major stakes events.

Although with only limited sires still standing stud in New Brunswick, the results on the racetrack on locally bred and raised horses are showing their worth.

After a 2012 racing season that saw him earn just shy of $52,000 and winning ten of twelve races, Untouchable One lived up to his name and was a major award winner both regionally and here at home at the Saint John horseman awards.

This season, Untouchable One, a home bred son of Carlspur, bred by Cheryl Geldart-Greer in Norton, New Brunswick is unbeaten early in the season and has paced to new lifetime mark of 1:56.1 taking the lion's share of the $23,000 purse. He is owned by the Dooley Boys Racing stable who have invested a lot in the industry here in the province and continue to do so year after year.

Another emerging star on the stakes circuit in the Maritimes is another home bred from Riverview, New Brunswick. Ramblinglily is owned by veteran Moncton area horsemen, Norm Leger and Allan Jones. They have been fortunate over the years to also develop such stakes winners as Woodmere Quickpeek, Familiar Face, Crafty Jewel and the list goes on.

Both Jones and Leger have been active in the race industry for years and continue to turn out strong contenders on the stakes trail. Ramblinglily captured the final of the three-year-old filly division at Red Shores recently after winning her elimination heat.

So far in 2013, she has stepped to a new life's mark of 1:56.1 and in just three starts to date this year and has made as much money this year already as she did in 2012. Her Maritime Breeders final payday matched that of Untouchable One at $12,700.

As we have seen by both the Dooley Boys and the Jones/Leger tandem, they have reinvested a lot of their winnings from stakes back in the industry. Each year, many New Brunswick horsemen invest some big dollars in what they hope turn into champions just like these two powerful stake performers.

Another filly, lightly raced at two is also turning some heads here in the Maritimes, and is another example of breeders in New Brunswick not giving up on the industry and continuing to invest, and breed and raise at their farms around this beautiful province.

Another example of just that is Rose Valley. She's a striking-looking filly by Brandons Cowboy, owned by long time racing stalwarts Dawn & Ted Bremner of picturesque Jemseg, New Brunswick. She was third in her Maritime Breeders final for veteran trainer Mike Campbell and catch-driven on this occasion by Kenny Arsenault.

After starting only five starts as a two-year-old, Rose Valley did show a lot of promise winning three of those races. Now three, she has already won a stakes event at three, and has earned over $ 10,000 early in the season. She is one to watch in this division and along with Ramblinglily make for strong representation from New Brunswick this season.

Lost in the success of these three horses is the fact that everyone in the province of New Brunswick involved in the harness racing industry face an uncertainty of its future due to government claw backs.

Many years were spent lobbying the provincial government in this province to stay on board with its support by showing the economic spin-offs that come from the racing industry.

Racing employees hundreds of people from around the province in major centers such as Saint John, Fredericton, andMoncton. These employees pay taxes in our province, and our horseman continue to breed, and raise their horses at our farms right across the region.

One must point out the vast number of sectors in New Brunswick that harness racing helps to support. Farmers benefit from the selling of hay, straw. Farriers are employed in the province that help to care for the maintenance of horses. Businesses locally such as Greenhawk supplying tack supplies, feed, and other consumables needed to provide horsemen their tools to operate their stables.

Veterinarians in the province make a significant portion of their revenue from the care of race horses and these are hard working, taxpayers who also employ a number of individuals in their operations.

We need government to realize that the horse racing industry to be sustainable, and with a small investment, is a money-making venture and provides the provincial coffers with a positive return on investment. In P.E.I. with the industry thriving, they get a return of ten dollars for every dollar invested. Tracks in both Charlottetown and Summerside have become the envy of many in Canada.

We, as taxpayers and horseman want the province to invest frugally and with economic prudence. Every dollar invested, is money earned for the province.

We need to make the province well aware of the great stories out there in the province like Untouchable One, Ramblinglily, and Rose Valley and we have many more positive stories to tell.

(HRNB)