Last fall, harness racing in New Brunswick was in trouble.
Mimicking the downward trend of attendance and wagering across the country, the province was seeing a steep decline in racing revenue.
The Saint John Exhibition Association, which conducted year-round harness racing at Exhibition Park Raceway, had been underwriting the cost for years. Then, near the end of 2008, they decided they wanted out when the season was over. For good. No more horse racing.
But in this devastating news came a new opportunity for an already present industry group. The New Brunswick Harness Racing Industry Association (a lobby group for the sport) had been working on building a good rapport with Premier Shawn Graham and his government since shortly after the Liberals came into power in 2006. They saw the opening and leapt -- forming Horse Racing New Brunswick in short-order.
“Racing, essentially, was going to implode,” explains HRNB president Jamie Hachey. “We were already responsible for distribution of the government’s overnight purse supplement and stakes money from the province. The Agriculture Minister (Ron Ouellette) saw that we were a responsible organization and suggested that we bring all the stakeholders together.
“We did that -- 40 owners, trainers, drivers, farmers and breeders – last September,” Hachey continues. “On the eve of that meeting, the province announced it was allocating 150 video lottery terminals to the industry to provide operational funding when it came up with a workable model. We sat down for two days and came out with a unified group.” At the same time, several committees were tasked to develop a model for the governance, operation and constitution of what was to become HRNB.
Their actions were well received, and encouraged government participation.
“Harness racing benefits agriculture in New Brunswick, providing direct employment and income for hundreds of farm operators, trainers, grooms, and other horse-care workers,” said Minister Ouellette at the time of the announcement of allocation of VLTs. “As a government, we have the obligation to work with the industry on identifying options to ensure that the industry is sustainable and self-sufficient.”
“We have heard some concerns raised by the harness racing industry on the viability of their future, and we feel that this is a very good solution to the challenges they face,” added Finance Minister Victor Boudreau, whose department oversees the province’s responsible gaming strategy.
In the end, it was a not-for-profit strategy that won out for the horsemen. The model, which gives the HRNB legal authority to negotiate leases and enter into agreements that allow it to operate racing, was adopted unanimously. The organization has the power to arrange leases for barns, track surfaces, surrounding facilities and virtually anything to do with horse racing.
That not-for-profit structure, garnered from an extensive study of other arrangements throughout North America, allows all profits after expenses to be put back into the sport -- including purses, improved and/or new infrastructure, promotion, etc. The HRNB signed a five-year agreement with the Exhibition Association in Saint John this March and currently has long-term agreements pending with Woodstock and Fredericton.
Operating within this framework, HRNB may represent the best opportunity in many years to get the industry on a path to recovery and sustainability in the Maritime province. VLTs are an integral component of the business model, and Hachey expects their installation to begin this summer in Fredericton and Saint John.
Future plans relating to VLTs are on hold until the government implements its gaming strategy. In the meantime, the provincial government has provided seed money to assist in bringing HRNB’s short-term plans to fruition.
As one of the conditions put forward by government, the VLTs would only be awarded to facilities based on requests by the new organization. As well, the organization and locations would have to meet business and performance standards as outlined by the Atlantic Lottery Corp., which operates the province’s VLT program. The program would be reviewed after five years, and during those first five years, the industry would not be subject to any minimum revenue threshold by operators of the program.
HRNB is also examining the establishment of more off-track wagering sites and distribution of signals from New Brunswick tracks and elsewhere in the Maritimes to fund purses. To that end, a regional task force has been struck to examine the network idea and Hachey, a full-time officer for the Saint John Police Department and a partner in the Whim Farms breeding operation on Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, says the co-operation seems to be there for the regional network.
Though purses were recently increased, HRNB started the season without the overnight purse enhancement funding. The province has agreed to contribute $200,000 annually to the Atlantic Sires Stakes program, so the organization, in the interim, is propping up purses with live and simulcast wagering revenue and by controlling costs.
Now, as the racing season has unfolded, fans have seen changes to the province’s race dates. Fredericton, for example, is racing several Thursday nights instead of its traditional Wednesdays. When that happened, EPR switched from Saturdays to Sundays, a move that Hachey says has the potential to bring more fans to the track and increase the live handle. There’s a large flea market on the EPR grounds on Sundays, he says, so there is the opportunity to attract some of those patrons to racing. In addition, they might have some luck bringing more non-racing people to the track with food fests and fair markets. After all, the HRNB -- like racing across the board -- wants to bring new people and youth into the sport, both on the backstretch and as fans.
A promotional booth will soon be established in the flea market locale, along with TV monitors and wagering machines, says Hachey.
Dr. Paul Hogan, director of racing for the Maritime Provinces Harness Racing Commission, says the establishment of HRNB is “probably the biggest light at the end of the tunnel we’ve seen in a long time. The fact that there is a group in place that is willing to do what needs to be done for the good of the industry means it’s the right group at the right time,” he adds.
Todd Trites of Fredericton says the advent of Horse Racing New Brunswick is definitely the shot in the arm needed in the province, as things were not going well.
“Racing is definitely heading in the right direction and I think it’s going to snowball,” says Trites, who was the leader in races won (206) and money-earnings ($321,482) in Atlantic Canada last year. “There have been a few bumps… we were late starting, for example, but that was mostly weather-related. I’m staying positive.”
“This is our one really good shot at turning racing around,” suggests Saint John horseman Sam Hodgin, Jr.. The trainer-driver says there’s a good feeling and an overall better attitude in the stable area about the way things are progressing. “We’ve stopped going in reverse and are moving ahead,” he says. “They (HRNB) know what has to be done and are working towards it.”
Hodgin, president of the Saint John Harness Horse Association, trains and drives four horses at EPR and is also in demand as a catch-driver. He is pleased to note that some owners, who hadn’t been around the track for years, have returned. “A few haven’t missed a card and some are talking about getting back in again.”
The EPR season started on April 18 -- racing 43 cards over 41 days -- though the meet was planned to begin in March and lost days (which may or may not be made up) due to the extremely harsh winter weather. Fredericton, racing 21 programs over 18 race days, got under way May 18, while Woodstock raced one date in June plus has its expanded fair meet in August.
Hachey was upbeat about opening day in Fredericton when a large crowd wagered three times what had been handled on opening day in 2008. The crowd and handle were bolstered by having several Atlantic Sires Stakes races on the track and a family day atmosphere on the grounds with pony rides, face-painting and other family functions. A similar family-oriented day is planned for EPR’s official opening day this summer. Hachey says EPR’s live handle for the first five programs this season is about on par with the last month of 2008, despite no mainstream advertising. So far, simulcast wagering has increased by 10 per cent this season in Saint John and 100 per cent in Fredericton.
And perhaps most importantly, a sense of community has been renewed -- parties are working together, at long last, for the good of the sport. The Fredericton Horsemen’s Association, for example, recently shared costs on a 50-50 basis for work on the track surface, which was in bad shape because of a hard winter.
“The interest in what is going on is phenomenal,” says Hachey, “from the public and horsemen alike.”
He knows that much work lies ahead, but he is more optimistic than ever that HRNB is going down the right road. “We’re doing what we have to do responsibly. We can’t go at light speed. We’re reinventing as we go along and to be rushed is inappropriate.
“There are more good things coming, but they will take time. I’m completely happy with where we are now.”