Have horses, can’t journey: Woodbine coverage a problem for Fort Erie Race Monitor

A stabling coverage enacted at Woodbine Racetrack not solely makes filling race playing cards at Fort Erie Race Monitor tougher, it’s not good for the horse racing trade as an entire.

That’s the opinion of veteran owner-trainer Nick Adamo, who has been racing on the border oval for many of his 30-plus years within the trade.

“I really feel dangerous for the house owners,” Adamo mentioned. “It’s the truth that a racetrack is dictating to them how they’ll earn a living or get their a refund. They’re mainly saying, you set up your cash for horseflesh, however we’re mainly going to dictate to you the way you are going to make or lose cash.”

At the moment, horses stabled on the Toronto monitor lose these privileges if horses participate in race playing cards at one other monitor. By way of thoroughbreds, meaning Fort Erie can’t depend on horses from Woodbine to assist fill fields for playing cards on the border oval.

The difficulty isn’t new. Woodbine reduce the variety of occasions a horse stabled there may depart to race at Fort Erie and return to Woodbine to twice a season again in 2017.

Fort Erie horses, in the meantime, are free to race at Woodbine and return to Fort Erie.

Previous to the restrictions, a median of two.7 horses per race have been shipped from Woodbine to Fort Erie. That was reduce in half to 1.3 horses per race from 2017 onwards.

“It will get extra irritating than something,” mentioned Drew Cady, Fort Erie’s basic supervisor. “Years again, you’d get 15 to twenty horses per day down right here.”

He mentioned there was a sure synergy between the 2 tracks, with Woodbine thought-about an “A” monitor and Fort Erie, with its smaller purses, a “B” monitor.

“It simply sort of labored out,” Cady mentioned.

He added that Woodbine says a scarcity of horses is behind the coverage and that the Toronto monitor is down upwards of 400 horses from 2021.

“They’re saying that, however the horsemen are pissed off as a result of if in case you have a less expensive horse that may’t get in at Woodbine, you are paying $100, $120 a day to coach a horse,” Cady mentioned. “And also you go a month with out operating and that is over $3,000 in payments. You don’t have any probability of getting any of your a refund.”

Jim Lawson, chief government officer for Woodbine Leisure, mentioned the monitor has invested thousands and thousands to create “a pristine backstretch” and the coverage protects Woodbine’s curiosity.

“When you’re going to do this, we would like you to help our product,” he mentioned.

He added that there isn’t any difficulty of Fort Erie horses coming to race at Woodbine after which returning to Fort Erie.

“However they need to not dwell right here,” he mentioned.

As Cady indicated, Lawson mentioned there’s a horse scarcity.

“We’re combating to seek out sufficient horses. We have to maintain area sizes wholesome.”

Adamo, who runs a pair of horses at Fort Erie, mentioned free motion from border oval to Woodbine and again once more is nice for horse folks in Fort Erie not less than.

“It’s a bonus as a result of they’ll go up there, get the horse they usually can have their cake and eat it, too,” he mentioned. “Nonetheless, from an trade standpoint, it isn’t truthful to the trainers at Woodbine. It is not truthful to the house owners at Woodbine. It is not good for Fort Erie racing that you’re not allowed to come back down right here to fill the fields.”

He needs issues have been completely different.

“The house owners and trainers at Woodbine would love to come back down right here and race if there have been no stipulations,” he mentioned. “Administration at Fort Erie Race Monitor would love for them to come back down right here and race.”

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