The past 12 months have left a seismic impact on the world’s economical state. The year saw many business establishments close down a while and then some even reopening. However, this still managed to scar the ambitious and budget opportunities of many enterprises, and this case the horse racing sector and even the gambling industry as a whole.
The unfortunate events of the last year’s and unfortunately still ongoing unprecedented situation made horse racing leaders reschedule or even cancel many events. But there is finally light at the end of the storm, with the most recent announcement of Ontario’s government that the province will be lifting some of its lockdown restrictions allowing live harness racing to recommence. Meaning that horse racing can officially return.
Rescheduling
Considering the ever-changing circumstances and restrictions around the lockdown restriction in the province, Woodbine Entertainment made a public announcement concerning some of the winter events that will be held at Woodbine Mohawk Park. According to the statement, four winter series and two series finals will be delayed to a later date.
The Family Day Trotting Series and Wine & Roses Trotting Series will now be scheduled for March 8, 2021. Then on March 11, the Blizzard Pacing events will take place. And the Snowshoe Pacing Series will be a day after that on March 12. All of the beforementioned events will feature two preliminary rounds and CA$30,000 added to the finals’ rewards.
Initial even calendar saw Valedictory Pacing Series and Niagara Pacing Series scheduled for Boxing Day. But after the recent changes and adjustments, the finals will be taking place after the completion of the abovementioned Blizzard and Snowshoe Series in March. The official dates for both finals will be announced by the horse racing leader in the near future.
Training Exercises
The live harness property of Mohawk also recently informed horsepeople of the imminent dates for training exercises and schoolers. Monday morning of February 22 saw the offering of a total of three schoolers with each having a maximum of 10 horses. Also, dates were determined for training on February 23, 26, 27 for trainers. Exercises will be divided into two sessions with 40 spots for each segment.
New Era Horizons
Lately, there has been a lot of discussions around the proposed bill that will legalize single-sports betting in Canada. The bill is gaining more and more momentum each day due to its huge backing across the country by numerous gaming regulators and corporations. After initial concerns, the horse racing leader is joining in the support of the proposed legalization. Both Woodbine Entertainment and Ontario Racing are hopeful that the sector will be protected from the seemingly inevitable change in gambling rules.
Initial Fears
Last year there were some concerns about the possible legalization of single-game betting in the country. Horse racing leaders were worried that the change might cause unintentional damage to the industry. The regulators believed that this could lead to potential losses for the industry and it might cause field cannibalization, resulting in many horsepeople losing their occupations.
Source: “Mohawk Reschedules Winter Series” Woodbine, February 23, 2021
