Standardbred horses round a corner in the second of two harness races on Saturday at Desert Park. This was the first time harness racing has taken place there. (Richard McGuire photo)
Harness racing may have a future in Osoyoos based on a successful experiment at Saturday’s race day at Desert Park.
For the first time in B.C. history, thoroughbreds, quarter horses and standardbred horses all competed at the same racing event.
“We were very happy and the horsemen were very happy,” said Jackson Wittup, executive director of Harness Racing BC, who was among the more than 1,000 spectators at Saturday’s races.
“There were a couple of minor kinks to work on, but the facilities are awesome. They’re talking about next year.”
Two exhibition harness races took place following five races with thoroughbreds and quarter horses. By the time the harness races ran around 5 p.m., many spectators had drifted away, but Carol Youngberg, president of the Desert Park Exhibition Society, said this is to be expected.
“Even if we had two more thoroughbred races, people seem to want to leave at five,” she said.
The biggest obstacle to a mixed event is the need to prepare the track differently, said Wittup. Thoroughbreds need a soft and sandy track, while standardbreds need a harder packed track, he said.
A compactor made one round of the track on the inside lane before the harness racing began.
Youngberg is also optimistic that harness racing will be back in Osoyoos in 2015.
“I think there will be some tweaking for sure, but it works together,” she said. “Whether we continue that or whether we pick separate dates remains to be seen. Maybe if there’s enough interest there could be two different card dates.”
Youngberg also hopes that the covered grandstand can be fixed to provide more comfortable seating than the temporary bleachers. The present seating is uncomfortable and is too exposed to the sun, she said.
Unlike the races in June when there were too few horses and jockeys, Saturday’s thoroughbred and quarter horse races had enough participants, even when several horses were scratched from the program.
The first race was a short 330-yard quarter horse dash. This was followed by a 660-yard mixed race with quarter horses and one thoroughbred, Tanya’s Toad, which won.
The last three regular races were all thoroughbred allowances.
In the fourth race, jockey Rocky Timentwa took a hard landing when his horse, My Chief, bolted for the railing on the final bend.
This was the same curve where a similar accident occurred in June.
Neither Timentwa nor the horse was seriously injured and Timentwa was back in the saddle for the fifth and final race.
Youngberg said an investigation would be done using photographs taken during both races.
“We are going to have to realign that corner of the track,” she said. “How and what’s required will be indicated to us by the provincial association.”
The experiment with harness racing comes as Fraser Downs at Cloverdale is reducing the number of months for standardbreds, said Wittup.
The track, which is currently the only one in B.C. with harness racing, is being reduced from eight months in 2014 to seven months in 2015 and six months in 2016 and onward, he said.
“We think that we owe it to our members to see if there are other avenues out there,” he said, noting that in addition to Osoyoos, Kamloops is also interested in bringing back harness racing.
Great Canadian Casino has taken over both the tracks at Hastings and Fraser Downs, Wittup said. Their plan is to have the thoroughbreds at Hastings in the summer months and the standardbred racing at Fraser Downs in the fall and winter, he added.
Fraser Downs cooperated with the Osoyoos experiment, lending their equipment and staff, Wittup said.
“It’s great it’s not us against them,” he said. “The co-operation has been good.”
Tom Shields, who has been the announcer at Desert Park going back to the 1990s, said he enjoyed the addition of harness racing.
“I think that harness racing has good a chance to be a hit here,” he said, noting harness racing people who watched from his booth above the grandstand were impressed with the crowd and the track.
Shields thinks standardbred owners will be discussing the use of Osoyoos as they try new ideas to boost the racing industry.
The horse racing industry has been troubled since governments allowed other forms of gambling, Shields said.
“Of course we’re trying to revive it and I think people here at Desert Park have done a great job today,” he added.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Quarter horses race out of the gate in the first race at Desert Park on Saturday. The course is only 330 yards long and it’s over in seconds. This race was won by number 6, Awise Secret. (Richard McGuire photo)
Quarter horses race down the track neck and neck in the first race at Desert Park on Saturday. The course is only 330 yards long and it’s over in seconds. This race was won by number 6, Awise Secret (left). (Richard McGuire photo)
Gemma Farrell, 5, of Abbotsford had a ride behind a standardbred horse driven by Donna Cunningham of Surrey. The harness racing people were giving rides to visitors. (Richard McGuire photo)
Horses round the final bend in the second race, which was open to quarter horses and thoroughbreds. The winner was number 4, Tanya’s Toad (second from left), the only thoroughbred in the race. (Richard McGuire photo)
Tanya’s Toad, number 4, a thoroughbred, races up from behind to win the second race. It was open to quarter horses and thoroughbreds. Tanya’s Toad was the only thoroughbred in the race. (Richard McGuire photo)
Horses round the final bend in the third race on Saturday at Desert Park. This race was won by number 6, Western Who, shown taking the lead on the right. (Richard McGuire photo)
Horses race down the opening stretch in the fourth race, a thoroughbred allowance. (Richard McGuire photo)
Horses take the first bend in the fourth race, a thoroughbred allowance, at Desert Park on Saturday. (Richard McGuire photo)
Jockey Rocky Timentwa hits the ground after his horse My Chief bolted for the railing on the final bend in the fourth race. He took some bruises and suffered a bit in the puncture vine at the side, but recovered enough to ride in the following race. The horse was not seriously hurt, despite flipping over the railing. The accident was in the same spot that jockey Mikala Harris was thrown on the June race day. Harris rode Via Zavata in this race on Saturday without any mishaps. (Richard McGuire photo)
Horses cross the finish line in the fourth race on Saturday while in the background men scramble across the track to where jockey Rocky Timentwa took a hard landing when his horse bolted for the railings. (Richard McGuire photo)
Lil Miss Bean, number 4, ridden by Gabriel Asencio, pulls into an early lead in the fifth race on Saturday. The win was Asencio’s third of the day. Jockey Rocky Timentwa, second from the left on number 6, was back on the saddle after having taken a nasty fall in the previous race. (Richard McGuire photo)
Lil Miss Bean, number 4, ridden by Gabriel Asencio, maintains her led as horses round the final bend in the fifth race on Saturday. The win was Asencio’s third of the day. Jockey Rocky Timentwa, left on number 6, was back on the saddle after having taken a nasty fall in the previous race. (Richard McGuire photo)
An earth compactor makes a round of the track after the final thoroughbred race to prepare it for harness racing. There were two exhibition harness races at the end of the program on Saturday making this the first time in B.C. history that thoroughbreds, quarter horses and standardbreds have all competed in the same racing event. (Richard McGuire photo)
In harness racing, a pace car holds horses back until they are ready to race. It then accelerates so the horses can continue at their own speed. Saturday’s races were the first time in B.C. history that harness racing has taken place at the same event as thoroughbred and quarter horse racing. (Richard McGuire photo)
Standardbred horses make their way down the track in the first ever harness race at Desert Park. The course was one mile long and the horses passed the finish like twice during the race. (Richard McGuire photo)
A cluster of standardbred horses approaches the finish line at the end of the first of two harness races. (Richard McGuire photo)
Harness racers carry on around bend to decelerate after crossing the finish line in the first of two harness races on Saturday at Desert Park. (Richard McGuire photo)
Standardbred horses reach the finish line in the second of two harness races at the end of the program on Saturday at Desert Park. (Richard McGuire photo)
