Ontario Lockdown Impact Still Trickling Down
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DRF HARNESS HOME DIGITAL HARNESS EYE HARNESS PPS DRF BETS ENTRIES ARCHIVE THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021 Ontario lockdown impact still trickling down While drivers, trainers and horses are in the process of shipping from NEW PLAYERS Canada to the U.S., a firm stakes schedule remains in doubt DOUBLE YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT UP TO $250 JOIN NOW Inside this issue Jay Bergman: Changing the amount of racing to reflect the current climate, Page 4 Keith Gisser: The issue of freeze branding vs. microchipping, Page 6 NEW IMAGE MEDIA Pocono: One Eight Hundred, Top Me Off Horses haven’t raced at Woodbine Mohawk Park since Friday, April 2. seek Weiss Series perfection, Page 7 Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson was clearly Award winners top Hambletonian, By Derick Giwner at his wits’ end with the situation and also Oaks eligibles, Page 8 addressed the possibility of postponing certain The question of when Woodbine Mohawk stakes races if the racing shutdown continued On The Backstretch: Profile of driver/ Park and a large portion of Canada in general beyond early May. trainer Joe Chindano Jr, Page 9 will be able to return to its normal daily “I can confirm (to put it gently!) that this routine remains very much in doubt. The is highly frustrating for us and our Ontario Best Bets & Analysis, Page 11 most recent Ontario lockdown is scheduled horse racing community; however, we are Headlines: Star-filled quas at Big M; to last until at least May 20, which certainly all working diligently and together to get live leads to questions as to how the Mohawk racing going in Ontario as soon as possible,” Dexter Cup elim at Freehold, Page 12 stakes schedule will be affected. said Lawson. “A potential postponement of Comments? Questions? In addition to a number of Ontario-sired the Pepsi North America Cup is something races scheduled for May, the Grand Circuit we are monitoring closely. We are currently Email the Editor [email protected] is slated to roll into town for the Graduate focused on our discussions with Government Series and divisions of the Somebeachsome- in hopes that we are permitted to resume TO ENSURE PROPER delivery where on June 5 followed by a big weekend of racing at Mohawk as soon as possible. If we OF THE NEWSLETTER VIA stakes eliminations on June 12 and of course are not able to resume racing by May 8, then the C$1,000,000 North America Cup final on a we will have to consider postponing the NA EMAIL, ADD [email protected]. huge stakes card planned for June 19. com to your contact LIST When reached this week via email, Woodbine CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 The first Ohio Sires Stakes of 2021 is just two weeks away! Miami Valley Raceway Leg One Divisions Sunday, May 2 Monday, May 3 3-Year-Old Filly Trot & Pace 3-Year-Old Colt Trot & Pace Kim Rinker, OSDF Administrator 614-779-0269 [email protected] Conditions & schedule available at www.racingohio.net © 2021 Daily Racing Form, LLC - 10 Grand Central, 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10017 ALWAYS A VIRGIN X ARTSTOPPER | $12,500 Freshman Sire SENSATION ALWAYS A MIKI Governors Cup Winner 1:50.2 $331,261 SOUTHWIND GENDRY Matron and PA Sire Stake Champion 1:50.0 $583,069 – Limited Bookings Available – PERFECT STING Undefeated Breeders Crown Champion and 2020 Dan Patch Champion 1:49.2 $534,300 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 WHERE IN THE U.S. ARE THE CANADIAN HORSES? Cup until later in the season.” Friday # of Horses Saturday # of Horses The situation with the North America Cup and many of the other Freehold 2 Northfield 3 stakes scheduled at Woodbine Mohawk Park in May and June goes The Meadows 1 Meadowlands 7 beyond when racing is permitted to resume in Ontario. Horses need “real life” competition and conditioning to be prepared for these major Plainridge 1 Hoosier 4 stakes and even if racing was to resume the day after the lockdown Miami Valley 1 Sunday # of Horses ends on May 21, would there even be enough time for those stabled north of the border to be at 100 percent? There is also the concern as Meadowlands 6 Pocono 1 to how many trainers will travel from the U.S. to Canada just weeks Hoosier 4 Northfield 8 after the lockdown has ended. Yonkers 1 Philadelphia 2 “I would not want to speculate on when the race would take place if it is postponed,” said Lawson on the North America Cup. “While it Only horses that made last pari-mutuel start in Canada considered. is challenging, we faced this situation last year and we were able to reschedule and it ended up being a great night with the highest wager- and the Ontario Sires Stakes program. We are maintaining our track ing handle in the 57-year history of racing at Mohawk - our strong surface daily and we are prepared to welcome racing back immediately preference is to resume racing as soon as possible and keep the NA upon being given the green light; however, we do understand that clar- Cup as scheduled. Maintaining our schedule as best we can is ideal for ity on the resumption of racing is fair, necessary and will help everyone the SB community who plan for our successful relaunch. are well into planning “Our owners, trainers and drivers have invested a lot into the their summer stakes industry and throughout the past year, they took all of the safety circuit. We certainly protocols we implemented very seriously. We operated more than appreciate that the 2,600 races since we resumed racing last June and didn’t have a industry deserves clar- single case of on-site transmission of COVID-19. We fully appreciate ity on when we will be the challenges that Government faces and we are very supportive of allowed to resume and doing our part. we are doing every- “I have shared with Government that if we are not provided some thing we can to keep reassurances that we can return to racing soon, irreparable damage people up to date on our will be caused to this industry. We don’t want to see our regular progress.” owners, trainers and drivers leave Woodbine Mohawk Park. Together, Mohawk isn’t the we have built our racetrack into the top harness racing destination Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the only track affected by in North America and we will do everything we can to ensure that Camluck Classic at Western Fair the lockdown in terms continues to be the case.” Raceway has been canceled for the of stakes racing. Flam- While Lawson and the horse racing industry in Canada continue second straight year. boro Downs already to fight the good fight, it is clear that the government isn’t listen- cancelled the Confed- ing despite a strong history of proper procedures when it comes to eration Cup scheduled for May 23 and it was confirmed Thursday COVID-19 safety. The future remains unknown and that is torture for afternoon (4/22) that the Camluck Classic, slated for May 28 at West- trainers preparing stakes horses, no less the people of Canada who ern Fair Raceway, has also suffered the same fate. Neither race was are somewhat shuttered at home. contested in 2020 due to the pandemic. Another issue facing racing in Canada will come once the lock- down has been lifted by the government. A number of horsemen and horsewomen have crossed the border in search of work. Drivers Doug McNair and Bob McClure have set up shop on the East Coast at tracks like The Meadowlands, Harrah’s Philadelphia and Pocono. Each have drives this weekend, with McNair listed on seven horses on Friday at The Meadowlands alone. Jody Jamieson is expected to compete at Tioga in May while Louis Philippe Roy and Travis Henry have found a tempo- rary home in Indi- ana at Hoosier Park. Many owners have moved their horses to U.S.-based barns and a large group of trainers have brought their stock south on their own. Canadian-based trainers like Robert Fellows, Amanda ED KEYS PHOTO Fine, Luc Blais and Woodbine Mohawk Park regular Doug Mark Steacy have McNair has seven drives Friday night at all begun racing in The Meadowlands. the United States. They are expected to return, but will that happen the moment the lockdown ends in Canada? “With respect to the horse people and horses that have recently departed Ontario, we appreciate the position our trainers and driv- ers find themselves in and understand the need to race,” said Lawson. “At the same time, I am confident and hopeful they will return for our industry-leading stakes program, competitive overnight purses DRF Harness Digest | 3 | April 22, 2021 Visit us online at drf.com/harness Changing the amount of racing to reflect the current climate jaywalking By Jay Bergman BergmanJay Trainer Noel Daley may be old school in terms of the sports’ conditioners. In speaking with him last week about his returning 3-year-old trotting filly Anoka Hanover’s schedule, Daley said, “I’m going to qualify her at Harrah’s Philadelphia. I’m not sending her to The Meadowlands to qualify in 1:51-1:52. That’s just crazy.” While some of the larger stables appear more eager to send their returning stars to The Meadowlands to get closer to race speed, Daley goes back to a time when qualifiers required passing a timed test that assured the Judges and the racing public that the horse could go fast enough in a pari-mutuel race.