Michael Currie, a member of the PEI legislative assembly, has spoken out in regard to the lack of consultation with Island horsepeople over the renaming of historic racetracks Summerside Raceway and Charlottetown Driving
Park and Entertainment Centre.
The Atlantic Lottery Corp. stated last week that the CDPEC will be renamed Red Shores Racetrack and Casino, while Summerside Raceway will become Red Shores at Summerside.
Currie is a member of the opposition Political Conservative Party.
“They knew about this and what’s really irritating to the horse people is that they weren’t consulted,” Currie told The Guardian. “They (horsepeople) just woke up one morning and heard it on the radio.”
Currie went on to say, “Islanders aren’t opposed to change, but they would like to be consulted. Branding is one thing but changing the name is a different thing altogether.”
Standardbred Canada director Eric Johnston voiced his opinion last week in regard to the issue, stating, "With a stroke of the pen, the folks at Atlantic Lotto have chosen to ignore a fabric of Island life.” He went on to suggest that whoever recommended the new names should be demoted and whoever signed off on the names should be fired.
Click here to view SC's web poll regarding the issue and to leave comments.
To read The Guardian article, which includes comments from horsepeople, click here.
(With files from The Guardian)