According to a report out of southwestern Ontario, at least some horsepeople currently stabled at Dresden Raceway have stated that they are not going to relocate their stock from stalls at the track in September even though they have already been given an eviction notice by Winrac Development, Inc.
An article by the Chatham Daily News explains that veteran horseman Malcolm MacPhail is planning on keeping his horses at Dresden, as are roughly 15 other horse owners.
"There has been stabling of horses in Dresden for the past 80 to 100 years," McPhail was quoted as saying. "I've been stabling horses there myself for the past 40 years."
The report has also cited MacPhail as saying that, as far as he knows, the Dresden Agricultural Society is on the side of the horsepeople that are looking to stay put. The article explains that Winrac leases the track from the Dresden Agricultural Society.
MacPhail is hoping that all parties involved in the matter will be able to renegotiate monthly stabling rates so relocation can be averted.
The report has quoted Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope as saying, "Winrac has reaped benefits from the Dresden track for years and should be willing to work with the industry to not only maintain it but to help make it grow and prosper."
Earlier this week, Pat Soulliere, president of Winrac, stated, "This isn't something we sprung on horse owners in the last few days. We wanted to be fair and give them plenty of time to make other arrangements."