Kristina Rennich started working as a groom at the Fraser Downs racetrack, formerly known as Cloverdale Raceway, when she decided to turn her passion for horses into a career at the age of 12.<\/p>\n
Rennich, 53, said she used to tag along with trainers to soak up every piece of knowledge she could at the track in Surrey, B.C., which has operated for almost 50 years<\/p>\n
She said the abrupt announcement of the harness racing track\u2019s closure last week is a blow to her childhood memories.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a place that helped me develop into the person I became,\u201d said Rennich, who now runs a facility looking after special-needs horses in Edmonton.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do feel like a part of me is gone, even though I haven\u2019t been back there, but knowing it was there (was) like you can go home,\u201d said Rennich, adding that many trainers and staff would feel emptiness at the news.<\/p>\n
Great Canadian Entertainment, which owns and runs the racetrack that is adjacent to its Elements Casino, said Friday would end horse racing immediately, after the City of Surrey, which owns the grounds, terminated the lease.<\/p>\n
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said in a statement that the city ended the lease to begin work to \u201crevitalize\u201d the Cloverdale fairgrounds and town centre.<\/p>\n
She said the racetrack and backstretch take up more than 4.8 hectares, and the revitalization aims to deliver new housing and public spaces, support a $3-billion hospital, and expand recreation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe respect the long history of horse racing in Surrey and the people connected to it. We carefully weighed those impacts against the citywide benefits of revitalization,\u201d said Locke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a city-building decision about using public land for the greatest public good, taken within our constitutional rights and with proper notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor said the Elements Casino is not affected by the lease termination, and no horses were on site due to ongoing health and safety work in the backstretch area.<\/p>\n
Rodrigo Perez, an assistant general manager of Fraser Downs, said the decision touches everyone who has been a part of Fraser Downs\u2019 \u201clong and proud\u201d history, from the racing community to many people who shared a passion for standardbred racing.<\/p>\n
The racetrack opened in 1976 under the name Cloverdale Raceway, before being rebranded as Fraser Downs in 1996.<\/p>\n
Rennich said that although she hasn\u2019t been to Cloverdale in 35 years, the news left her feeling empty. There was a flood of memories, of cleaning stalls, petting the horses, and race nights filled with shining lights and adrenaline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese horses were extremely well looked after, because they\u2019re athletes. So, it wasn\u2019t just driving them and working with them around the track, but it was also massage and grooming and checking everything,\u201d said Rennich.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a lot about keeping these horses in great mental condition as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some horses loved fresh carrots while others wanted scratches in \u201call the right places,\u201d recalled Rennich.<\/p>\n
Rennich said the place taught her a work ethic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019ll tell you, even when I was young, those trainers didn\u2019t give me a break,\u201d said Rennich. \u201cYou can\u2019t be sick or take a day off. These horses need to be looked after.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it was cold and rainy \u201cyou had to work through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came race night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe grandstand was full and the lights were on, and you would get them ready, hand them to the driver, and then you would just hope for the best because these were animals you worked with every day, and you wanted to see them do great, and it was a payoff,\u201d said Rennich.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a payoff for the hard work and the early mornings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not everyone is sad to see the racetrack closed.<\/p>\n
The Vancouver Humane Society welcoming the city\u2019s decision, calling horse racing \u201coutdated\u201d and \u201charmful\u201d entertainment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the closure at Fraser Downs marks an end to racing at that site, it is emblematic of a wider, long-overdue shift away from horse racing,\u201d the society\u2019s campaign director, Emily Pickett, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHorse racing inherently subjects horses to pressure and danger, debilitating injuries, early physical decline, and at times fatal outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce said it was saddened by the closure, saying harness racing had been an important part of Cloverdale\u2019s identity, economy, and community spirit.<\/p>\n
Former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum, a former CEO of Harness Racing BC, criticized Locke for having \u201csteamrolled an entire industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrainers, breeders, jockeys, and workers with unique skill sets are now out of work. These aren\u2019t jobs that can be replaced overnight,\u201d said McCullum.<\/p>\n
Rennich said drivers, trainers, veterinarians, and the farriers would feel a \u201clarge hole\u201d in their lives after the closure.<\/p>\n
The closure also meant the loss of a lifestyle for young people that was healthy, outdoors and active.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a real shame to lose it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kristina Rennich started working as a groom at the Fraser Downs racetrack, formerly known as Cloverdale Raceway, when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-79187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}