There won’t be fans in stands to cheer the horses on
After a delay, harness racing season opens Saturday at Kawartha Downs
“It’s going to be kind of weird.”
That’s Kawartha Downs harness racing manager Jim Huck’s take on having no fans when the Fraserville standardbred track’s 2020 season kicks off Saturday night.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the grandstand will be closed to all spectators, even owners, Huck said.
The dining room, concession stands, lounge and wagering booths will all be closed.
Horsepeople will be separated in the paddocks by an empty stall to maintain social distancing. Face masks are mandatory and hand-washing stations have been added. There’s no smoking in the backstretch and extra security will ensure protocols are followed.
“It’s going to be a little trying,” Huck said. “We will still have our track announcer and track photographer. Everything will be normal except nobody is there to watch. I feel bad because we have such a loyal fan group. We wish our fans could be there.”
Horsepeople got a taste of the protocols during qualifying last Saturday and practice on Wednesday.
“It really went off without too much problem,” said local Ontario Harness Horse Association rep Dave Gibson.
“It’s different now. You don’t socialize with anybody,” said Peterborough horseman Jason Woodward. “I went last week to practice and qualified on Saturday and I took my daughter, who is 19, with me. She got back in the truck and said this is going to feel weird this year because you can’t visit with people. Horsepeople are one big family and the worst of it is you can’t socialize.”
One positive, said Huck, is a full 10-race card with 73 horses is scheduled. It’s about the maximum number of horses they can accommodate in their 108 stalls if they’re to maintain open space between farms.
Fans can watch races on livestream and wager at Horse
Players Interactive at hpibet.com. A link is available on the Kawartha Downs website at kawarthadowns.com.
Kawartha Downs is known for drawing some of the province’s largest crowds and it won’t be the same without spectators, says Gibson.
“It’s not going to be anywhere near as much fun,” he said.
“We enjoy having people there cheering on the horses and betting on the horses. You get friends and family who can come and watch your horse race. We’re going to be racing but it’s strictly going to be for some purse money which makes it worthwhile.”
The start of the season was delayed a month which has made it challenging to train new horses, Woodward said.
“I would have had them at Kawartha going to schooling races to teach them,” Woodward said.
“We’ve taught them a little bit more on the farm but now they’re being thrown right into the fire so to speak. They’re going to be learning on the job.”
Ontario Racing divided up purse money allocated for races cancelled in March, April and May and paid it out to eligible horsepeople.
“It helped cover the feed and everyday expenses for the horse,” Woodward said. “It helped but it wouldn’t have been what you would have made racing.”
It’s not unusual on a nice night at KD to total more than $30,000 in wagering. While horsepeople hope fans will continue to support them through online betting, Gibson said they do expect a decreased handle.
“It’s certainly not the same as people coming to the racetrack and betting their couple of bucks. You really have to have an incentive to bet online if you’re going to bet online.
“We were very fortunate to have a lot of regular people who came out on Saturday nights. You see a lot of faces you get used to seeing there and a lot of cottagers who come out. It made it a lot of fun when you get a full grandstand of people.
“It adds to the enjoyment and excitement and atmosphere to the place. You can imagine running the Kentucky Derby with nobody in the stands or on the infield at Churchill Downs. That could very well happen this year and it certainly won’t be the same. Look at NASCAR racing with empty grandstands. It just doesn’t look right when you see it.”
Woodward said the lack of fans shouldn’t affect the quality of racing.
“Guys are going to drive their horses the same whether there are people there or not because that’s how they make their living,” he said.
“A lot of the time when I’m driving you don’t hear the fans too much. When you have a thousand pound horse in front or beside you breathing that’s all you can hear at times. There are times you can hear the crowd but not very often.”
“Hopefully by the end of the summer,” said Gibson, “maybe some of these restrictions have been taken off and people can come out to the races.”