Championship final chuckwagon race coming to Century Downs
Horse racing enthusiasts with a leftover chucks craving after Stampede will be able to catch an encore performance the following month, thanks to a new partnership that will bring chuckwagon racing to Century Downs Racetrack and Casino.
The World Professional Chuckwagon Association announced Thursday that it has entered a multi-year agreement with the Balzac facility to bring chuckwagon racing to Century Downs for the first time, in the form of a new, marquee finals event each August.
The five-day tournament, set to take place next year Aug. 21-25, will culminate on championship Sunday with a payout of more than $100,000 to the winning driver.
“We typically haven’t had a true finals, like what we’ll have here, in the past,” WPCA spokesman Bryan Hebson said during the announcement at the track.
He said smaller-scale WPCA events typically bring 10,00015,000 spectators over four to five days.
Economic impact studies suggest events like the one coming to Century Downs could generate up to $6 million, according to Hebson.
“So if you look at all the retail back there and we bring 10,000-15,000 people into this area, they’re going to be shopping, they’ll be buying groceries, there’s fast food. It just goes on,” he said.
The addition of chuckwagon racing, on top of the thoroughbred and standardbred racing that already takes place at Century Downs, will require some renovations to the facility. Century Downs general manager Paul Ryneveld said they’ll be installing portable grandstands in the infield for this year, similar to the set-up of the Rangeland Derby at the Calgary Stampede.
EXPANSION PLANS
“There are plans down the road to expand this building and this facility as it’s proven to be popular in the marketplace and that horse racing has a spot in the Calgary market,” Ryneveld said. “For us, it’s a major undertaking but we’re really excited about it. It allows us to showcase the facility and showcase another form of racing besides the two breeds that we have regularly here … As this place expands, we think that this event can expand.”
Century Downs opened in April 2015, filling a void in the Calgary area after horse racing at Stampede Park came to an end in 2008.
Jason Glass, four-time world champion and 2013 Calgary Stampede champion, said he was hopeful the final at Century Downs could grow into a prestigious event, especially since another high profile chuckwagon tournament already exists in Calgary.
“It’s tough to compare to the Calgary Stampede. It’s been running for 100 years,” said Glass, who was on hand for the announcement along with fellow drivers Kurt Bensmiller, Troy Dorchester and Chad Fike.
“It don’t get any better than the Calgary Stampede does for wagon racing but this place, it can grow.”
The WPCA circuit already includes events in communities throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.
“As a wagon driver and just being a part of the WPCA tour for so long, we’re definitely ecstatic to come here,” said Bensmiller, a four-time Stampede champion and three-time world champion. “Anytime we get near Calgary, it always seems to have a better buzz in the air.
“Wagon racing is definitely all western heritage. It’s a real familyorientated sport. For people that are in the city to be able to come out and be this close to live action, whether it be the horse racing or now us with the wagons, you can’t get that anywhere else.”