I am writing this column on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, and the turkey smell is just starting to fill the house. Things are good!!!
That also means the Breeders Crown was last night and I would like to congratulate all the winners and, in particular, the Canadian connections. From my observations, there were five winners with Canadian roots and I was very happy to see two different winners with Quebec owners. My favourite 2010 Breeders Crown moment must have been seeing Phil Hudon getting the job done. This should open up some drives for Phil in the future. Good job Canadians!!!
By the time you read this, we will know how many elections for Standardbred Canada Directors will be held across the country. Once it is determined that elections are required, ballots will be mailed to members and voting will close on December 17th. I encourage members to vote as these are very significant times in our industry - change is coming!
Speaking of change, Standardbred Canada will soon be a big part of change; as a new wave of Directors is put in place, we will continue to push for industry development. The Board of Directors recently gave a vote of confidence to continue to move forward with the Racing Development and Sustainability Plan, as well as to continue on with an effort to try and get a change to the taxation allowable deductions for horse racing.
The Ontario Racing Commission has also stated that changes will be made to the Ontario racing model and those changes will affect everyone in some form or another. I still believe changes have to be made to the British Columbia and Alberta racing models as I am very concerned about how the horse population is going to look in the next three years if there is no sign of stability very soon!!! I haven’t even touched on the Meadowlands problems and the fact that different provincial governments are getting into online gaming options. November and December will be very important months in determining what 2011 is going to look like for all of us across the country.
I seem to be on the theme of ‘change,’ so I should mention since my last column there were also some career achievements that might create change for those involved. Congratulations go out to Marvyn Webster (Red Shores, Summerside) and Stacy Gay (Fredericton Raceway) for banking their first driving wins. On the training side, Scott Habbershaw earned his first win at Dresden Raceway.
And how about getting your picture taken for your 14,000th career driving victory... especially when your daughter asks: “so, how many races have you lost?” That’s what happened to Dave Palone!!! Congratulations Dave on such a monumental milestone, second among North American Drivers and third overall in the world!!!
Time for turkey now, until next month!!!