In an article on July 2 by the Guelph Mercury, Woodbine Entertainment Group CEO David Willmot has made it abundantly clear that WEG will not sign a contract with the Ontario Harness Horse Association
. Bill O'Donnell, president of the Central Ontario Standardbred Association, has also commented on the situation.
"I'm quite prepared to say that as things currently stand, the chances of WEG having a contract with (the harness horse association) is zero," Willmot was quoted as saying. "In fact, more than that, we have no intention of interacting with them or dealing with them."
The most recent spat between WEG and OHHA has been a well-documented affair, especially over the course of the last seven months. Horsemen have been racing at WEG tracks (Woodbine and Mohawk Racetrack) ever since the prior contract ended at the end of 2008.
O'Donnell, who took over the head role at OHHA for 99 days before stepping away from the organization due to philosophical differences, is now leading the fledgling COSA. The organization is gaining support among the local horsemen. The Guelph Mercury report states that COSA has already signed up at least 300 members.
"You have to work with these people (WEG)," the Guelph Mercury article quotes O'Donnell as saying. "Why would you want to fight? Just stand down there at Woodbine and Mohawk and look at the money they spend."
O'Donnell went on to say that the WEG tracks play a crucial role in the Canadian standardbred racing landscape. "If you don't preserve WEG, none of the rest of it means anything. [Harness racing in Canada] will go by the wayside, I think. WEG's our flagship."
(With files from the Guelph Mercury)
Related Stories
• O'Donnell On COSA Applications
• Darling Speaks Out
• WEG Statement On COSA Formation
• New Horsepeople Association Formed
This just goes to prove what
This just goes to prove what I have been lobbying for the last three months. We need fundamental change in OHHA. It has come to this that the Chairman has come out and blatantly called out the executive and directors of OHHA for misleading the membership. WEG will not deal with OHHA at any time in its present state. We must move forward and start afresh with OHHA, to bring credibility to what this association was started for, not a personal piggy-bank for individuals and a bank account to sue people that can't be bullied by certain individuals.
This confrontation between
This confrontation between WEG and OHHA is a typical example of horsemen failing to stick together as a group. Once again allowing a semi dictatorship to develop where even less control of their future is in their own hands, Unless of course your privileged to have a stable powerful enough to race at WEG. The smaller racing outfits are destined to be a way of the past as most are looking out for themselves as opposed to the whole. No surprise here. I have loved racing and being around horses all my life but with this kind of situation ongoing in the horse business the fun is gone and so am I.