The two separate weeks-long shutdowns that the Standardbred industry has faced in Ontario through 2021 elicited a number of reactions from the province's horsepeople — some temporarily relocated to the United States; some remained. Regardless, the most recent reopening of racing amid the province's progress to curb the coronavirus has spurred industry-wide optimism.
For trainer Kyle Bossence, temporarily relocating his entire stable south of the 49th parallel was never an option, given the immense cost of shipping two dozen horses and a staff of six to a new location.
"The way I looked at it, if I was going to go to the States, it was going to have to be a permanent move," Bossence recently told the Wellington Advertiser.
Comparatively speaking, Bossence, based in Arthur, Ont., has been able to hold his own rather well — over half of his starters this season have finished third or better, and his trainees have racked up over $180,000 in purses, just over $1,500 per start. That said, Bossence's decision and experience, while right for him and his stable, was not universal. Others relocated, while others still sold their stock and shut the barn doors.
"The last [lockdown] there, there was definitely people I know that just shut the doors and said they’re done," Bossence continued.
Kyle Bossence and his assistant trainers jogging Standardbreds at their Arthur, Ont., base of operations.
When racing shut down in April and May, it served as a tipping point for many smaller stables.
"It’s not like locking the door in a store. You still got to feed ‘em, you still got to train them — they’re live animals," said Bill O'Donnell, famed horseman and president of the Central Ontario Standardbred Association, adding that the spring shutdown was "the straw that broke the camel's back."
Meanwhile, larger stables, like Serge Godin's multi-million-dollar Determination outfit, relocated to the States in order to not be at a competitive disadvantage during the lucrative stakes season — and top Canadian drivers, including Bob McClure, found themselves living out of suitcases while working to maintain their competitive edges, as well.
"They had no choice, they had to make a move, they had to go down to the States to get horses racing," McClure, who drives many of the Determination horses, said.
But now that racing is back in full swing in Ontario, only half of Determination's roster has returned north.
"Unfortunately, like a lot of horses, the big stable, they kept the majority of their best horses down there and that hurts," McClure continued.
Fortunately, many Ontario horsepeople were able to keep somewhat afloat through three shutdowns with the help of equine support payments coordinated by Ontario Racing. And even more fortunately, almost all horses and horsepeople who left for the States have returned, and the future looks brighter as the province seems to have gotten a handle on controlling the pandemic.
"There wasn’t a huge, massive exodus at the time; there was certainly more movement than we would like to see, but what are your options?," said Dan Gall, president and CEO of Standardbred Canada. "I think the fact that most of all our drivers are back ... the opportunity is here, we’ve had a strong few weeks, and fans are now back joining the races to some degree."