Kawartha Downs General Manager Kevin Goetz and local horseman Dave Gibson have taken some time to discuss the Peterborough, Ont. raceway, which is currently dormant due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The duo recently offered comments to The Peterborough Examiner, which took a closer look at the situation at the track, seeing as though the five-eighths-mile oval had previously been scheduled to open its live meet this weekend.
In regard to some live racing in Ontario potentially taking place in June, Goetz was quoted as saying, "They're looking at June 5 possibly doing racing without audiences. Do I see that happening? I'm not sure, to be quite honest. It will be interesting to see, but it's going to take a lot more people to control that environment."
Kawartha announced late last month that the track is prepared to conduct live harness racing in 2020 when the green light to do so is given. Goetz told The Peterborough Examiner that when live racing returns to Kawartha, security presence in the paddock will have to be increased in order to ensure that people are keeping their distances from each other.
"I'm 100 per cent sure there'll be a season," Goetz was quoted as saying. "I'm very much looking forward to it. It's a big thing in this community. I'm just not sure when it's going to be."
"The thing with our industry is the work with the horses doesn't stop. They still have to be cared for. They're still being fed. In the case of most Standardbreds, mine included, we're working them every day on a routine," Gibson, who is a local Ontario Harness Horse Association representative, was quoted as saying.
"My day really consists of nothing much different than what I was doing before except we're not racing and, of course, that's when we make money. We're treading water here trying to keep afloat just like everybody else."
To read The Peterborough Examiner article in its entirety, click here.
(With files from The Peterborough Examiner)