April is a very important month for the owners in our industry. It’s stake payment time! You can almost hear the trainers across Canada telling their owners: “put the colt into everything you can, this is the one we have been waiting for!” Good luck everyone. Some of you will be right.
What did you do from February 12 - 28th? I, like most, was glued to the TV, watching the Olympics, enjoying sports I had never even heard of! Obviously living in British Columbia it was hard not to get caught up in the Olympic furor, as it seemed like the rest of the world didn’t even exist for those two weeks. As I was watching sports for hours and hours I tried to think of this ‘event’ in the context of horse racing and a few thoughts came to mind.
“It’s now our job to keep you informed and updated with the careers of the athletes that you fell in love with during the Olympics,” said a local radio personality the day after the games. “We will see many of them again in four years from Russia. Anyone can write a story about a famous athlete getting into trouble of some kind but we need to know what Jon Montgomery, Ashleigh McIvor, Joannie Rochette and the others are doing with their careers now that we know them.”
Standardbred racing has many great stories... stories just like these, of overcoming hardship, and making sacrifices. We have to find these stories and tell them.
I had never heard of the phrase ‘Own The Podium’ before Vancouver 2010. My understanding is that the Government of Canada is dedicating more money (with corporate sponsors) to athletic development so that high level athletes can compete against the power houses of the world. By the look of the medal standings, it must be working!
How does this relate to standardbred racing? Could every industry stake holder (horsemen, regulators, tracks, provincial governments, etc.) pool their advertising dollars and come up with a national campaign?
My last Olympic thought is this: imagine... you are 18 years old, you have just won an Olympic gold medal and you play a sport in which you probably cannot make a living. While you’re sitting in the dressing room after winning the game, someone decides to snap some pictures with your team mates -- friends and allies that you worked so hard with over months or even years. I’m sure you are really wondering where I am going with this, but bear with me. The next day, a photo of you, at 18, with a beer, has gone viral. It’s all over the world. The uproar, thankfully, settled down pretty quickly. I think that’s because the world said: “so what?” The women’s hockey team trains in Calgary, where the drinking age is 18 -- but it’s 19 in British Columbia. Seems ridiculous, doesn’t it?
With that in mind... and with the help of Standardbred Canada, can we strive for one consistent set of rules and licenses for racing across Canada?
On a different note, I was disappointed to see this month that our industry has lost a ‘young gun.’ Jeremy Pierce, General Manager of Harness Racing PEI, has accepted a position with the city of Charlottetown. Jeremy was very dedicated to standardbred racing and has always been able to think outside the box. I want to wish him the best of luck in that new position. Good luck Jeremy!!!
And finally, congratulations go out this time to Scott Young for notching that first driving win in only his 12th career drive at Georgian Downs on March 6. It won’t be long until he won’t be known as Bob’s son. Bob will be known as Scott’s father! Way to go Scott!!!
Until next month!!!
A monthly newsletter from Standardbred Canada’s Chair of the Board of Directors.