Volunteers (from left) Gail Hochsteiner, Darla Flack and Roberta Hormes were busy on Saturday cleaning up the bleachers at Desert Park in preparation for two horse race days in August. Although the bleachers were rebuilt this summer, there was an accumulation of dirt and bird droppings. (Richard McGuire photo)
It has been more than 15 years since anyone has been able to sit in the grandstand at the Desert Park racetrack facility, but that’s about to change very soon.
While there have been massive improvements to many parts of the racetrack facility – including major upgrades to the stables, improvements to the actual track, and numerous aesthetic improvements – the one thing that has remained stagnant has been the grandstand.
However, that has changed over the past four months after Town of Osoyoos council ($37,000) and the board with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen ($50,000) both agreed to provide funding to allow the Desert Park Exhibition Society to pay for much-needed renovations to the grandstand.
When the first of two race dates for 2015 takes place on Saturday, Aug. 8, the grandstand, which is estimated to seat about 500 patrons, will be open for the first time in well over a decade.
That’s very good news for all of the dedicated volunteers with the exhibition society, who have worked so hard over the past several years to bring professional horse racing back to Osoyoos, for horse racings fans and all citizens of the Town of Osoyoos. Having the grandstand upgraded will allow for numerous other community events to be held at the facility, said Mike Valliere, president of the Desert Park Exhibition Society.
“We’re very close to being finished and it all looks really nice,” said Valliere about the grandstand renovations. “It has taken a lot of time and effort to get the grandstand back up to where it needs to be to reopen and we’re all pretty excited that it will be ready for the races on Aug. 8.”
All of the renovations have been done under the watchful eye of a professional engineer to ensure that they were done correctly and will meet all provincial safety, building code and engineering standards, said Valliere.
This past weekend, a small team of volunteers from the exhibition society gathered to clean up the rooftop area of the new grandstand that has been covered with large amounts of bird droppings, said Valliere.
The biggest part of Phase 1 of planned renovations included fixing up the roof and foundation of the grandstand, upgrading the look of the façade, installing new railings and ensuring the structure meets all building code standards, said Valliere.
There are further plans to continue upgrades next year during Phase 2, he said.
Valliere said the $87,000 in funding was well spent and will not only ensure the long-term viability of horse racing at Desert Park, but will also attract other sporting and community events for many years to come.
“Getting the grandstand fixed and brought up to code has been our biggest priority since the new exhibition society was formed and we started fixing up the place three years ago,” he said. “To hold large events, you need a grandstand to allow people a place to sit and relax out of the sun.
“We’re just thrilled that the grandstand will be open for business for our first race date in a couple of weeks. Having a new grandstand is also going to allow this community to host numerous other big events up at Desert Park and that’s exciting too.”
Dean Gauthier, a member of the exhibition society who helped assist Osoyoos-based Valley Trend Contracting in performing the grandstand renovations, said he’s very pleased with what’s been done.
“There’s still a lot more work to be done, but we’ve managed to finish what needed to be done to get up to code and be ready for our upcoming race dates,” said Gauthier.
Future upgrades will continue next year to ensure leaking from the roof is permanently repaired and more structural work under the grandstand is completed, he said.
During the return of horse racing to Desert Park in 2013, both race dates attracted crowds in excess of 2,000. Last year’s attendance figures were still solid, but dropped by an estimated 20 per cent.
Gauthier and Valliere are convinced huge crowds will attend this year’s event with the new and improved grandstand set to open.
“The grandstand looks good and it’s all up to standard and regulations … and being able to sit 500 people up there is going to make a big difference on our race dates,” he said. “I know for a fact some people weren’t coming out because they had no place to sit. That’s all changed now and we’re expecting bigger crowds for sure with the grandstand ready to go.”
Carol Youngberg, one of the founders of the Desert Park Exhibition Society, resigned her seat with the society after announcing her intentions to run for a seat on town council last fall.
She’s thrilled the new board has been able to move forward and accomplish its longtime goal to renovate the grandstand.
“It has been 16 years I believe since we’ve been able to use the grandstand at Desert Park, so this is a huge step forward,” she said.
With the grandstand ready to open, the number of community and sporting events that can now be hosted at Desert Park is almost limitless, she said.
“It’s going to make a huge difference in attracting all kinds of events to the facility,” she said.
None of the upgrades at Desert Park would have been accomplished without the continued support of local residents who have attended and supported numerous fundraising events held by the exhibition society over the past several years, said Youngberg.
“Without the tremendous community support, we would not have gotten to where we are now,” she said.
Youngberg also predicts record crowds will attend the two race dates set for Desert Park in August.
The second race date is set for Saturday, Aug. 22.
Post time for both race dates is 1 p.m.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Volunteers (from left) Roberta Hormes, Darla Flack and Gail Hochsteiner were busy on Saturday cleaning up the bleachers at Desert Park in preparation for two horse race days in August. Although the bleachers were rebuilt this summer, there was an accumulation of dirt and bird droppings. (Richard McGuire photo)
Volunteers (from left) Darla Flack, Roberta Hormes and Gail Hochsteiner were busy on Saturday cleaning up the bleachers at Desert Park in preparation for two horse race days in August. Although the bleachers were rebuilt this summer, there was an accumulation of dirt and bird droppings. (Richard McGuire photo)
