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CBC
11 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Horse racing community blindsided by Surrey, B.C., racetrack closure
Social Sharing The local horse racing community is in shock following the closure of the Fraser Downs racetrack in Surrey, B.C. The news came just weeks before Harness Racing B.C. races were set to start. Kelly MacMillan, spokesperson for the group, said there was no prior warning about the closure. "It was just a complete shock. We had no idea this was coming," MacMillan said. "We were expecting to start racing on September 4 and people have ... incurred great expenses, just have that pulled out at the 11th hour." Great Canadian Entertainment, which owns and operates the track, said Friday the closure takes effect immediately, though the adjacent Elements Casino Surrey will remain open. The decision follows notice from the City of Surrey, which owns the Cloverdale Fairgrounds where the racetrack is located, that it is terminating the lease. Fraser Downs was B.C.'s only standardbred horse racing facility and had been in operation since 1976. While the grandstand and adjacent Elements Casino will remain open, the racetrack, stables and backstretch will be shut down. Development plans In a statement, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said the decision allows the city to begin critical planning to "revitalize the Cloverdale Fairgrounds and Town Centre." It's part of a broader redevelopment plan for Cloverdale Fairgrounds, which include new housing, a $3 billion hospital, public spaces, cultural facilities and expanded recreation amenities. However, it is unclear what exactly will be built at the nearly five-hectare site. MacMillan and others in the industry argue the decision fails to consider the impact for workers, horse owners and breeders. "Some of the staff are going to be on the street," he said. "The people that support horse racing [like] feed stores, hay stores, they've just lost a huge client without notice and no ability to plan around it." WATCH | Horse racing at one of the two remaining racing tracks in B.C.: Fraser Downs closure shocks B.C. horse racing community 13 hours ago Horse racing at one of the two remaining racing tracks in B.C. has come to an end after the City of Surrey revealed its plans to redevelop the land for housing and other public amenities. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, the news has come as a huge shock to the racing community. Doug McCallum, the former mayor of Surrey and former CEO of Harness Racing B.C., is calling the closure "a devastating blow to Surrey's economy, heritage and working families." "Locke has steamrolled an entire industry in Surrey," he said in a statement Monday. "Trainers, breeders, jockeys, and workers with unique skill sets are now out of work. These aren't jobs that can be replaced overnight." Surrey Coun. Linda Annis supports the city's decision, stating that housing is desperately needed for the city's rapidly growing population. "The city needs to look at what we can do with the lands that would be best for the residents of Surrey, what can we do to better utilize the lands there in terms of housing, improving public spaces," she said. Locke says the redevelopment will help protect Old Cloverdale as a "historic precinct," but critics question how ending a nearly 50-year-old racing tradition achieves that. "What better way to preserve the early way of life in the heritage than to continue on racing?" said David Milburn, president of the Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association of B.C. "It's only five hectares we're talking about here …they can go ahead with their development and still continue the race track there." One remaining racetrack in B.C. Milburn says his association has "great sympathy" for the standardbred community and plans to help them find new racing opportunities. With Fraser Downs closed, Hastings Racecourse at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) fairgrounds is B.C.'s only remaining track. The lease for Hastings is set to expire in May 2026, and there has been talk of redeveloping the site for a potential Whitecaps stadium, but Milburn remains confident about the track's future. "We're of the view that [the Hastings] lease is going to get renewed," Milburn said. "We believe we're on solid ground here at Hastings." Fraser Downs faced uncertainty earlier this year when Great Canadian Entertainment ordered the closure of its stables to deal with a longstanding rat infestation. The society challenged the move in court, arguing it would cause irreparable harm to the industry. However, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in May that the temporary closure for pest control did not meet that threshold. WATCH | Rat infestation shuts down popular Surrey horse racetrack: Rat infestation shuts down popular horse racetrack and training facility in Surrey 3 months ago A rat infestation has shut down a popular horse racetrack and training centre in Surrey. Horse owners have filed a lawsuit in hopes of keeping the facility open while the pests are exterminated. As CBC's Jon Hernandez reports, it's one of the only horse training facilities of its kind in the province. No horses have been stabled at the site since late May but the racing community had held out hope for a September return. "Had we been given notice, we could've prepared," MacMillan said. Despite the setback, he says the association is exploring alternatives.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Horse racing ends in Surrey as city reclaims Fraser Downs land for redevelopment
Horse racing at Fraser Downs in Surrey, B.C. has come to an end after nearly 50 years, as the city moves to redevelop the land for housing and other public amenities. Great Canadian Entertainment, which owns and operates the track, said Friday the closure takes effect immediately though the adjacent Elements Casino Surrey will remain open. The decision follows notice from the City of Surrey, which owns the Cloverdale Fairgrounds where the racetrack is located, that it is terminating the lease. Mayor Brenda Locke says the land, which occupies about five hectares of the Fairgrounds, will be folded into the city's broader redevelopment plans for Cloverdale Fairgrounds, which include new housing, a $3 billion hospital, public spaces, cultural facilities and expanded recreation amenities. "Our city is growing rapidly toward one million residents," she said in a statement to CBC News. "Ending the lease with Fraser Downs allows us to begin critical planning to revitalize the Cloverdale Fairgrounds and Town Centre…this is a city-building decision about using public land for the greatest public good." The Fraser Downs is one of two horse racing tracks in B.C., and the only racetrack for standardbred horses. WATCH | Rat infestation shuts down popular Surrey horse racetrack: It opened in 1976 as Cloverdale Raceway and was rebranded in 1996. "We respect the long history of horse racing in Surrey and the people connected to it," Locke said. "We carefully weighed those impacts against the city-wide benefits of revitalization." The announcement comes months after Great Canadian Entertainment ordered the stables closed to address a longstanding rat infestation at the site. Horse owners and trainers said the facility was unique in Metro Vancouver and critical for housing and training animals ahead of the fall racing season. At the time, Harness Racing B.C. said the closure would affect about 218 members, including up to 100 people employed during racing season. The organization launched a legal challenge against the closure but lost after the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in May that the temporary closure to address the infestation did not constitute "irreparable harm" to the industry. No horses have been stabled at Fraser Downs since late May.
