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Horse racing returns to Leamington
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Hump Day Special
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By Bryan Jessop The race is on in Leamington. Representatives of the Lakeshore Horse Raceway Association and the Ontario Harness Horse Association have announced that the Leamington Fairgrounds will host four races starting later this month. OHHA executive director and LHRA president Mark Williams led a press conference under the Fairgrounds grandstands declaring that the Leamington facility will host harness horse races for four consecutive Sundays starting Sunday, Sept. 22 with a 1 p.m. post time. The two groups originally set their sights on holding 10 races this year starting with the Leamington Fair on July 14, but an unforeseen length of time awaiting approval from provincial government groups turfed what would have been Races 2 through 6. “There’s been bumps in the road. The government has definitely given us lots of hurdles to jump over,” said Williams. “Today we’re thrilled to say it’s absolutely a done deal. It gives us some hope for the future. It’s been a collaboration of all sorts of good people. We’ve had to navigate a lot of legal waters to get to this point.” Whether or not race dates will be scheduled in Leamington after Oct. 13 and into 2014 is still unknown. Williams explained that the preservation of jobs across the Essex County region hinge on the continuation of horse racing and that if a new harness racing facil-
“Sexy and 17”
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ity is constructed in Lakeshore as currently planned, the generation of new jobs would number in the thousands. “The government must realize that we are ready, willing and able to do what we have to do to have horse racing in this area,” said Leamington and District Agricultural Society president Tammy Wiper. “The Leamington and District Agricultural Society takes great pleasure in welcoming the Lakeshore Harness Horse Association to the Leamington Raceway.” The gathering was attended by one of the local horse racing scene’s biggest supporters, Essex County warden Tom Bain. Bain, a former harness horse racing jockey himself, has been instrumental in helping Williams and the OHHA in efforts to curtail the loss of jobs in the industry since the Ontario government declared an end to slots revenue sharing at tracks throughout the province. Bain and his committee have met every Thursday for the past year with the objective of receiving approval from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and other provincial government institutions such as the Ontario Racing Commission. “I think this is a giant step for us that we’re going to be able to get racing back here and the only reason we’ve been able to get this racing is teamwork,” said Bain. Bain and his Lakeshore group executive have been in near-constant contact with representatives of the
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Harness racing at the 165th Leamington Fair on Friday, June 14 was originally hoped to be the first of 10 races this year at Leamington Fairgrounds. Delays in achieving approval from the provincial government made it seem as though there would be no follow-ups to the annual race, but four more events have been scheduled starting Sunday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m.
Lakeshore mayor and Essex County warden Tom Bain addresses a crowd of listeners under the Leamington Fairgrounds grandstands during an announcement that harness horse racing will be coming to Leamington.
Leamington mayor John Paterson expresses his enthusiasm regarding the announcement of four harness horse races coming to the Leamington Fairgrounds starting Sunday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m.
harness racing industry, those whose jobs will be lost if it shuts down in Ontario and other local politicians. Both he and Williams expressed appreciation for the support and assistance of dignitaries throughout Essex County and beyond, including Leamington mayor John Paterson. “When I first approached the mayor, he was right on board right away,” Bain
said. “The town of Leamington, the Fair board have been excellent in supporting us.” Bain explained that the four upcoming races will be presented as family-friendly events while Williams assured those attending the Sept. 11 meeting that fans would be considered the top priority. Between the announcement and the first of four races, organiz-
Leamington and District Agricultural Society president Tammy Wiper thanks LDAS board members and other supporters during an announcement at the fairgrounds that the facility will host harness races this fall.
ers reached out to Essex County businesses to become sponsors for programs and other means of promotion. October 13 will also be the date for a fundraiser presented through the Knights of Columbus. Williams estimates that a sum of 20,000 bets per night will be required to prove the viability of (Continued on Page 2)
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