What’s behind the recent condition sheets at Mohawk?

The recent addition of low conditions and cheap conditioned claimers to the racecards at Woodbine Mohawk Park has been a topic of contention among harness racing horsepeople.

In January, Mohawk began carding $7,000 conditioned claimers and lowered its condition floor to non-winners of $1,500 last three – race types that are the bread and butter of Ontario’s B-tracks.

Some argue Woodbine Entertainment is using its capital advantage to outcompete Ontario’s smaller tracks for a depleted horse pool, while some think it makes more money available for horses of the same ability. The decision comes as a horse shortage in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for racing secretaries to fill fields. Regardless, the addition of lower conditions to the Mohawk condition sheet has been called a “cannibalization” of the B-tracks and has drawn criticism online, as well as support.

Longtime trainer Kyle Reibeling said Mohawk carding the same races as B-tracks will lead to increased competition for the same diminished group of horses.

“It’s a common thing nowadays that we have a horse shortage,” he said. “For three tracks to write the same classes compete for the same horses, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

The decision to card lower conditions, though controversial, is one with the intent to ensure Canada’s premier oval fills its races and programs. Woodbine Mohawk Park Race Secretary Tony O’Sullivan explains it as the track taking necessary measures to maintain the volume and attractiveness of its product. With competition from other jurisdictions also tempting horses away from Ontario, O’Sullivan says he is doing his best to keep them here while providing horsepeople with a greater opportunity to earn.

In regards to the notion that Woodbine Mohawk Park’s actions are victimizing the province’s B-track’s, O’Sullivan disagrees.

“I don’t see it that way really at all,” he said. “I see it that it’s wintertime, and obviously the better horses, the younger horses, there’s not as many of them, and why can’t we have the lower-end claimers and cheaper conditioned horses racing at Mohawk for a little bit more money so that they can potentially make more money?”

He continued to explain Mohawk’s position as one that will enable greater earning potential for horsepeople and increase the track’s capacity to card full races.

“From a Woodbine point of view, we certainly don’t look at it that we’re trying to make horsepeople not make money,” he said. “My personal view is ‘let’s try to have as many people as possible make money, especially the smaller stables,’ and the only way to do that is give people options. And I don’t see how anyone can say that’s a bad idea. Let’s say the lower end at The Meadowlands – you can potentially race them at three different tracks right now and have your options of where you want to go.

“So for people to say it’s cannibalization or unfair, I think that’s very unfair of them to think that when the grander scheme is to try and keep horses in Ontario and put money into people’s pockets.”

Reibeling said he understands the importance of keeping Woodbine Mohawk Park thriving and encouraging people to keep horses in Ontario but would have preferred other solutions.

“If you look at the big picture, we need (Woodbine Entertainment) in Ontario racing,” he said. “We need them to have a strong handle and them to thrive. I get it from their business perspective, I just thought that with a little innovative thinking, and maybe some more creativity, they would not have had to undercut the B-tracks to survive themself. (The B-tracks) were kind of thrown under the bus so (Mohawk) could survive, and they’re sacrificing entries at both Flamboro and London to bolster Mohawk.

“I agree with (O’Sullivan’s) assessment to a certain degree, but I also agree that when they’re all trying to write the same classes it’s still an oxymoron because you’re fighting over the same horseflesh. When you look at the conditioned claiming class being a 15 base at Flamboro, London, and Mohawk, it’s the exact same. So now if Mohawk would up theirs to a 20, chances are they’d get the horses that are performing quite well at the B-tracks – if they’re either claimed or somebody wants to take a chance to race them at Mohawk, they’re increasing their value as well.”

Many horses have already made the trip to Campbellville to take a shot at the more lucrative purses. Trainer Stewart McQueen sent mare Hava Connection to Mohawk on Feb. 16 after racing her for nearly a year in the bottom claiming ranks of Ontario at other circuits. The six-year-old rallied from eighth to finish second and picked up a cheque 63 per cent bigger than the one she earned from her place finish five days earlier at Flamboro Downs. McQueen said he made the decision to race for more money rather than trying to take an increased chance at winning a cheaper class as he thought his horse would be competitive.

McQueen believes the introduction of lower classes with increased purses at Mohawk presents a better opportunity for horsepeople across the board to make money.

“I don’t see how it could be negative for the people at the B-tracks, because the better horses will go race at Mohawk” he said. “So the people that don’t have as competitive horses, say, as myself or my brother, in the seven-claimers would have a better potential of making more money at the Bs while we’re at the As trying to race for the $7,500 purses.”

In the Monday $7,000 claiming handicap at Mohawk, four of eight entries were either shifting or had already shifted to the track from the same level elsewhere. The Raceway at the Western Fair District’s card on the same night had full fields in nine of 11 of its races, and the remaining two are missing only one horse. Tuesday’s London slate is similarly full. Reibeling said tracks, including Mohawk, are reaching out to horsepeople on a daily basis to appeal for entries in the lower classes that Mohawk recently added.

O’Sullivan said giving horsepeople choices to race their horses in different spots benefits them and ensures Mohawk completes its cards.

“We have to put races on, and everybody can see the top end is light,” he said. “So it’s twofold – obviously we need to fill fields, and Woodbine Entertainment is in the racing business just like the other racetracks, and then on the other side of that is if we are able to afford to have the higher purses, which Mohawk [is], I think it’s good for horsepeople to be able to have an opportunity to race for more money in a group of horses of their own calibre than they would on the smaller tracks on a weekly basis. That’s really the crux of it.”

McQueen said he understands O’Sullivan’s position and is looking at the bigger picture in regards to this issue.

“What I see is Tony O’Sullivan planning for the future, and I think they’re actually putting a band-aid on the problem right now so they can plan for the future,” he said. “So I think both of the things he’s  doing, he’s got a long-term goal and a short-term goal. I can see how he’s doing it as a businessman and it makes sense to me.”

The problem to which the band-aid is being applied is the horse shortage. This deeper issue was identified by Reibeling, O’Sullivan, and McQueen. The reduction of stock quantity in Ontario has caused problems for the industry as a whole, with the lower conditions of Mohawk a symptom of a more threatening crisis. Reibeling recommended to look at more imaginative attempts at keeping horses in Ontario, such as allowances for Ontario-owned horses, and for governance to consult horsepeople on ways to encourage keeping horses in the province and bringing some into it from elsewhere.

McQueen has seen the departure of several breeding farms and the decline in financial security of such operations in Ontario, especially around the smaller ovals.

“I think the horse population is decreasing, and it doesn’t matter if it’s at the As or the Bs,” he said. “Just in general, there’s less breeding programs in Ontario, there’s less farms, there’s less funding to C-tracks like Hiawatha and Dresden. Those little tracks that could have breeders out near them – it doesn’t pay for those breeders. And in the last two years, I think three of the bigger B and C track breeders have called it quits because of retirement.

“We’re on our way right now to problems. The way I see it is essentially this summer, there’s not going to be enough horses to fund all these tracks that race on the weekends […]. And those guys are going to be fighting for each other’s horses, and you’re going to see a lot of decreased betting pools because the fields will only have five or six horses in them.”

Another concern among horsepeople is that the move by the Mohawk race office will diminish the prestige of Canada’s top track. The racing at Mohawk, they argue, is the gold standard of the sport in the country and that should be reflected in the quality of horse. McQueen sees it differently, saying it instead presents more options for racing barns.

Reibeling holds the former opinion.

“I don’t think it’s good for Ontario racing because – and maybe it’s just the way I grew up into it – Mohawk is our premier track,” he said. “(Woodbine Entertainment) is the upper echelon of racing in Ontario. It’s an integral part of the landscape of racing in Ontario, but it just has that standard that is just a little bit above everything else. That’s what everyone strives for.

“To lower itself by having the same level of claimers at the B-tracks across the board, and our C-tracks, it just takes some of the lustre away.”

Outside of the issue of the Mohawk condition sheets, it is clear the central problem is an insufficient quantity of horses in Ontario. This, according to McQueen and Reibeling, leaves tracks fighting for the ability to fill fields. It also means more drastic measures have to be taken to do so, sometimes to the ire of the horsepeople, the backbone of the industry. How the province deals with this issue will likely determine the future health of the racing industry and whether tracks will be forced to get more creative to put a full line behind the gate, if they are able to at all.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink