Fort Erie racetrack sits on the borderline of Buffalo NY, separated by the Niagara River, with the Peace Bridge making the connection to the town of Fort Erie and Buffalo city.
There is no doubt that both Buffalo and Fort Erie have some rich history between the two of them but when it comes to horse racing Fort Erie gets the edge over Buffalo. When it comes to the thoroughbred racing in Ontario, even though Ontario is very vast and has a very rich land mast there are only two race tracks that host thoroughbred racing and those are Woodbine Racetrack and the Fort Erie Racetrack.
So why are these two racetracks seemingly at wavelengths apart from each other? Well, it is true that the driving distance from Toronto to Fort Erie is an average of one hour and forty-five minutes but for big city folks, that time can be spent driving in traffic within the city of Toronto on a rainy day. It's been quite a few years since I have heard the cries of many people racing horses at Fort Erie and their concerns about declining purses and the fear of even closure. For most fans of the sport and for horseplayers who pay keen attention, the two tracks complement each other on a fan scale. The reality is that there is still a lot more that goes into sports and race tracks than what the average person may believe. Even in the USA where horse racing has been so dominant over the years, they have managed to close several racehorse tracks.
I have wrestled with my brain several times hoping for an answer to pop up to why Fort Erie horse guys are concerned and without pinpointing several observations there are legitimate concerns.
Firstly, the track is a beautiful dirt track with a turf track on the inside.
There is a richness that presents itself when walking into a facility like the one at Fort Erie but only persons appreciating that solid pride of history and a willingness to grow gets it. I have a fondness for older tracks and their layout but I do love modern facilities and the ability to blend both the older and modern world.
Speaking with many horse people who either own, train, or groom horses at Fort Erie their cries for help touched me tremendously. The words spoken usually sound like a recital at Sunday school and almost feel like they are rehearsed. Clearly, to me, it tells me that most horse people at Fort Erie are seeing things the very same way and I wanted to vary away from those lenses just to see if there are any other angles that could be taken.
How do you rebound? How do you continue to stabilize a community that depends on these horses and their support? Those are great questions I played with to see if I could play a role in helping the rebound of the horse racing. The one thing I would say is that there will always be concerns but the effort we make to continue doing the things we love doing has to be consistent and intentional. I asked myself as if I was crazy! Who pays for horse racing? Who makes the sport rich? Who puts up the money? Who provides the horses?
I thought to myself, if I could answer those questions I may get the answers I need to solve these very inquisitive questions of mine.
I came up with a few answers but I pondered if I was correct.
I have always believed that if you can get the fans excited then your sport will prosper. It's a proven theory as seen around the world and I bet you already know this. I made sure that I was at Woodbine when Funnycide won the 2006 Dominion Day Stakes and I witnessed both Woodbine miles won by Wise Dan.
Having a product that sell is the key.
In smaller markets you have to be very intentional in the way you sell your product to the fans.
Post-time is 4:30pm, May 28th.
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