Now in my second month as CEO/President of Standardbred Canada I thought it important to communicate to you what we are focussing on as an association.
When receiving my appointment to the position, I promised the Board and our employees that it would be eyes and ears wide open as I assumed my new responsibilities, with a commitment to reach out to our members and stakeholders to better understand the concerns and issues of the industry and to find out what expectations the industry has of Standardbred Canada going forward.
It has been very important for me to get up to speed with the industry and its people as quickly as possible, which is why I have had meetings with Cal Bricker, VP of Horse Racing Integration at OLG, conversations with John Snobelen, Rob Cook, Executive Director of Ontario Racing, and many of SC’s Directors, employees and horsepeople.
I have attended events in Clinton, Grand River, Hanover, the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and just finished visiting Century Downs in Calgary, attending an excellent fundraising event for the community, called “Pacing for Charity” where I had the opportunity to meet as many people as I could including the awesome and hospitable Executive Director of the Alberta Standardbred Horse Association, Fred Gillis. He and I met for a breakfast and he communicated how much work the Alberta Horse Racing Industry has been doing to promote our sport and encourage and increase a wider fan base. And, I saw firsthand, a very wide demographic of young and old attending the Century Downs races, and fundraising event.
I had great conversations with breeders Gerald McGinn, Bill Andrew of Meridian Farms, Blair Corbeil - President of ASHA, Shirley McClellan - CEO of Horse Racing Alberta, Norm Kennedy - Past President of ASHA, Jackson Wittup, Diane Bertrand, Paul Ryneveld – General Manager, Century Downs, and Peter Watts, a Sports broadcaster with Corus Entertainment, just to name a few. All provided very optimistic and positive comments with regard to the Alberta Standardbred Horse Racing industry and everyone should be applauded for their hard work, positive outlook and the great results that they have finally been seeing over the past couple of years. Keep up the great work!
I saw many hard working individuals that just love their job and care so much for the sport, the horses and the industry. A former SC Field Rep and ASHA employee, Colleen Haining just never stopped from dusk to dawn, giving tours to those groups that the drivers and trainers were racing for. Listening to her speak about our horses and the sport was inspiring and motivational.
It is this kind of energy, commitment and positive outlook that keeps us all motivated and provides meaningful results for not only our industry, but the sport itself.
This business is about connecting and working together as a team and the Pacing for Charity event was an excellent example of this.
I had a great opportunity to hear real feedback about Standardbred Canada and what we should be doing to assist the industry; from arranging information sessions to liaising with associations to assist and elevate concerns that specific jurisdictions might be having. I will share this information with our team and the Board to further explore this going forward.
Talking and working together is tremendously important and helps provide a universal, consistent message to our fans and stakeholders. I will continue to busy myself doing much of the same for the next little while, working with all associations in all jurisdictions, to assist wherever possible with ideas, support, and resources to move our sport forward.
My next visit was in PEI. Red Shores Racetrack and the Gold Cup and Saucer is something special. They have done a magnificent job in capturing the history of that racetrack from colour displays, saluting the awesome drivers, and promoting their roots and sport… a truly remarkable event. A solid effort by Kent Oakes, and again an awesome opportunity to meet and see the hardworking industry working together.
I met several of the “movers and shakers” in the Atlantic region and they will all will be instrumental in planning for next year’s World Trotting Conference and World Driving Championships that Standardbred Canada is hosing in August, 2017.
Then I was on my way to Quebec to meet with SC Directors, Rick Karper and Vincent Trudel, and meet the team at Hippodrome Trois Rivieres and enjoy the Prix D’ete.
I am looking forward to many more discussions with you and others as we begin to create a blueprint of how to move our sport and industry forward from coast to coast, and at Standardbred Canada we will try our best to communicate every step of the way. I welcome your input and comments at [email protected].
