Vancouver Island stable navigating impacts of Fraser Downs racetrack closure

The closure of Fraser Downs Racetrack in Surrey has horse racers and breeders across the province, including Vancouver Island, hit by the impact. 

On Friday, Aug. 15, Great Canadian Entertainment announced it would be shutting down live horse racing at the track, effective immediately, following a notice from the city that Surrey is "exercising its recapture option under the lease agreement to terminate the lease."

Paul Gilley, owner of Seaspray Stables in Cedar, said he wasn't given advance notice of the closure, and he anticipates it will be "devastating" for his business. Gilley moved to the Island 18 years ago and started a horse-breeding operation at his property in Cedar.

"I don't see it continuing in the same manner, no, it's been such a shock," he said. "I currently have 18 horses on the property, six of them are what we call brood mares who are the ones who produce the babies each year and I employ two people at the farm and they help us birth the foals, raise the foals."

Fraser Downs was the only professional racetrack in B.C. hosting competitive standardbred racing, and another season was set to begin in September. B.C.'s other track, Hastings Racecourse, only uses thoroughbreds. 

Gilley said that's a "major portion" of the standardbred market gone.

"Our only ability to sell horses would be to the Alberta market, but like any racing jurisdiction, foals have to be born in the province to be eligible for certain large-dollar stake racing which encourages the breeding industry in the province."

The impacts are also being felt by the staff at Seaspray Stables, which has two employees including a full-time live-in barn manager, Luna Poole, who has been working for Gilley for the past six years.

"Hastings has thoroughbred horses, which are the ones that are ridden under saddle in the race," Poole said. "All of these horses here that Paul has are standardbreds, and standardbreds have a unique gait called a 'pace' and that is the gait, the movement, we want the horses to run in when they're racing."

This past year the stable has had six births, matching the most births it's seen any season. But even if the stables had been given advance notice of the Surrey racetrack's closure, Poole said it wouldn't be enough since the horses are trained for three years before being sold – there has already been dozens of months of investment in their education and training.

"These babies are all born this year, but they won't race until 2027 if we had a racetrack … not knowing that the track would close, Paul would just keep breeding each year, different stallion and mare combinations, hoping for our next Secretariat."

The horses that show aptitude are sold with racing in mind, while the others are sold for other uses such as recreational riding or therapy.

"People don't realize how versatile standardbreds are, because they think of them as only race horses," Poole said. "Standardbreds are very versatile as trail horses, therapy horses even because even at this age and of course growing up they're just so kind and so generous and very much thinking horses." 

Facing an uncertain future, Gilley said he's contemplating what to do next with his business which he estimates brings an impact of more than $200,000 to the local economy.

"I'm going to have to sell my broodmares, four of the six this year are pregnant, do I sell them pregnant to some people in Alberta?" Gilley asked. "Do I sell the barren mares? What do I do? I have got to obviously reassess the whole business – it doesn't make sense anymore." 

As for her own future, Poole said if the stables had to close she doesn't see herself ever working with standardbred breeding again unless she moves off the Island.

"This is a really neat type of work and … there has been less and less standardbred breeding."

In a press release, Kelly MacMillan, president of Harness Racing B.C., said the organization's board is looking into the impacts of Fraser Downs' closure, and asks for patience from membership.

"As shocked as we all are, the HRBC board of directors will work diligently towards investigating the repercussions of this termination and will advise the membership as information is received," the president said.