To me, ‘The Backstretch’ isn’t the straightaway opposite the homestretch, where the horses race on their way toward the ¾ pole. To me, and many others, the backstretch is the place where I truly fell in love with horse racing.
The sights, the sounds, the atmosphere, and definitely the smell of the backstretch, was something that gave me chills when I was younger.
It was an entire community unto itself, with horses, caretakers, dorms, tack shops, a kitchen… yes, the backstretch kitchen. Usually home to brilliant and inexpensive food, served in a setting of card games, beer bottles, live races or replays on the TVs, laughter and camaraderie.
It was jammed into the backstretch kitchen at Mohawk where I, and hundreds of others, heard Judge Ito tell us that, somehow, O.J. was found to be “Not Guilty,”
It was in that very same kitchen, a half dozen years later, where dozens of us, tears in our eyes and lumps in our throats, saw the second plane hit and the Twin Towers burn, while our horses stood patiently in their shedrows waiting to be harnessed or bathed.
For me, personally, it was the backstretches of Greenwood and Mohawk that helped confirm what I already knew years earlier: that horse racing was going to be a huge part of my life.
I’ll never forget the first time that I finished up so late in the barn after being in a late race at Greenwood, that I just crashed on the cot in my tack room, rather than make the 45 minute drive home to Pickering, knowing I’d just be turning around and returning a few hours later.
To some, waking up and having to push over the ass-end of a horse, who was receiving a bath, just to squeeze out of their front door, might not sound like fun - that morning, to me, it was paradise.
For you, and thousands of others, it may have been another backstretch where you fell in love with our great sport, but regardless of where it was, they all had something in common… The racetrack backstretch was the backbone of the industry. It was the home of the horses and most of the caretakers, the location of the race office, the office building of the trainers, the meeting place of the owners and the drivers, and it was the place where we were all one.
It was also a place whose existence made horse ownership much more affordable. Stall rent at Mohawk was $1/day if the horse was bedded on shavings - to cover the cost of removal - and free if they were on straw. Now, as owners, most pay $5,000-$6,000 per horse, per year, for stall rent.
Shipping costs, when most were stabled in the backstretch, were basically non-existent as well. Now, even if your horse is located close to the track you’re probably still paying $100 shipping per start. That’s another $2,000-$4,000 per year it’s costing to own a racehorse.
Grooms lived in good conditions in the Mohawk dorms for $35/week, and combined with the aforementioned good and inexpensive food in the track kitchen, they didn’t need to make $45,000/year just to scrape by. For those who didn’t drive, didn’t own a car, or who just wanted to have a little money in their savings account, the backstretch was an important option.
Our tracks themselves also stay in much better condition when hundreds of horses are stabled in the backstretch, because there are horses and machinery on them every morning and most nights. And fewer cards get cancelled due to inclement weather because fewer people have to ship.
Barn parties at Christmastime, summer BBQs, and post-race gatherings on big race nights were commonplace in the backstretch also. Hell, the Confederation Cup barn parties were legendary. Now, for the renamed Juravinski Memorial, a few hundred people - if you’re lucky - stand on the tarmac at Flamboro and watch the race, and then everyone heads straight home. That’s fun. That sure entices participation in the sport.
For some reason, however, even with all these positive aspects, and while Thoroughbred tracks all still have them, most of our Standardbred backstretches are now, sadly, gone.
On April 17th the National Capital Region Harness Horse Association announced what they called the “extremely disappointing decision” of Rideau Carleton Raceway closing their backstretch.
On May 21st we learned that Harness Racing BC is taking Great Canadian Entertainment to court, in an effort to guarantee that the backstretch at Fraser Downs doesn’t suffer the same fate.
What in the hell are we doing?
Backstretches might cost some money to keep open. Sure, there’s some maintenance and insurance costs, but as you can see here, there are a LOT more positives than negatives in racetracks having an open backstretch. But still, we’ve closed, or are closing, most of ours.
That makes perfect sense… in bizarro world perhaps.