Summary:
The last time horse racing was held at the Marquis Downs was over the weekend. Last year, Prairieland Park announced that it will not be renewing its contract with the track, which upset horse racing fans and local horse people. The park revealed its plans to build a soccer stadium and a professional soccer team at the track’s place.
The last time horse racing was held at the Marquis Downs was over the weekend. Hundreds of people visited the track on the weekend to watch the last racing meet at the track and place bets on their favourite horses before the track closes. Moosomin First Nation is working on launching a brand-new track, which will not be the end of horse racing in the region.
Last year, Prairieland Park announced that it will not be renewing its contract with the track, which upset horse racing fans and local horse people. The park is planning to build a soccer stadium and a professional soccer team in the place of the track. Many local trainers and jockeys will have to relocate as a result of this news.
It was one last time
Moosomin First Nation was granted a license to operate a track in the region, which relieved many professional horse people and fans of the sport. There is a plan to launch a brand-new track in the northwest area of SASKATCHEWAN. The last set of racing will take place at Marquis Downs in September of 2022.
The Chief of the First Nation said that she is quite proud of the new licenses for a horse racing track and that it will be the first of its kind in the country. She shared that the goal of the Nation is to keep live racing in the region and attract a new demographic of horse jockeys, trainers, owners and fans.
The president of the Horsemen’s benevolent and protective association commented on the possibility of having horse racing in the province again. He said that everyone involved in the industry is very happy with the news and that people from the industry have been contacting him over the phone.
Russell Tourangeau from the Kamsack region has been a horse owner for over thirty years and believes that it is better to have local horse racing than it is to have a track outside of the province. He said that the last races at Marquis Downs are a big help to owners as they won’t have to send their horses to other provinces.
There was a reason behind the closing
The group revealed that the property was suffering major financial losses when Prairieland Park announced its decision to end operations at Marquis Downs. According to the part, the track has been running at a loss for the last three years. The financial struggles of the track have been going on for a long time before the 2020 closings.
However, despite the clarification, some local horse people still don’t like Prairieland Park. Jamie Hartmann has trained horses at the track for the last eight seasons, and she grew up around it. Due to the closing of the track, Ms. Hartmann had to relocate the horses that she trains to compete in other provinces around the country.
Horse racing returns to Marquis Downs for one last gallop to the finish line, according to Brady.