'Where do I go?': Horse owners in limbo at Fredericton Raceway

Horse Racing New Brunswick's only statement about pulling out of Fredericton Raceway is that "it's a sad day" for the harness racing industry and Fredericton Exhibition Ltd. is to blame.

The harness racing group's lease with Fredericton Exhibition for office space and the video-lottery lounge it operates expires Dec. 31. The two parties engaged in a bitter landlord-tenant dispute this year and did not reach an agreement on a new lease.

Winners Lounge at the raceway will close for good on Christmas Eve at 6 p.m. It will reopen Jan. 2 at a new location on Hanwell Road, with 10 VLTs instead of 25.

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The horse racing association is moving its offices to Saint John.

Fredericton Exhibition executive director Mike Vokey is declining to comment until January.

The news has left horse owners like Charlie Miles in limbo.

"It means now, where do I go? What do I do?" Miles said.

The longtime horseman said he feels betrayed by successive governments that promised help, then took it back, and also by the racing organization and the landlords who were willing to let an old tradition die. 

The summer of 2017 would have marked the 150th year for harness racing at the Fredericton track, but it is unclear if any races will take place at the track. There were only three racing dates in 2016.

"It's the longest continuously raced harness racing track in Canada," said Dean McLaughlin, who co-owns a colt with Miles.

"It would be a shame if it didn't race this year, for sure. The 150th? Come on."