OSAS was honoured to be a small part of the excellent debut program of Racing Night Live tonight on TSN. It was the kick off of a weekly program that will be shown every Thursday night at 6 p.m. on the sports channel featuring three Thoroughbred races from Woodbine and three Standardbred races from Mohawk.
Horse racing becomes the first major sport to return from the COVID-19 crisis and WEG’s CEO explained to Brian Williams how that was possible.
“We’re unique in that experience, we don’t rely on selling seats. Basically our income comes from online so we can make if viable. The safety has been first and foremost. We will continue to stress and follow the health guidelines and listen to the health authorities and we can continue on on this basis we’re fortunate in that regard.”
Williams congratulated Lawson on having both the Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds showcased on the same program which has never happened before.
“We’re excited and we thank TSN for being such great partners. They’ve given us the opportunity to showcase Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds across the country all summer long; it’s wonderful for the sport and all the people involved.”
Part of the program included describing some of the differences between the two styles of racing including jockeys’ silks and drivers’ colours and the starting car versus the starting gate as well as the differences in the tracks the different horses race on.
Also showcased on the program was the acoustic version of the song Where I’m From by the Canadian country music duo The Reklaws. The video was filmed at Woodbine as well as a nearby horse farm. Including in the feature a request for support for the after care programs for Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds including OSAS. Lawson kicked off the campaign with a generous donation of $2,500 to OSAS as well as LongRun, their provincial counterpart on the Thoroughbred side.
The three races shown tonight on the harness side were won by Oh K Man, Hockey Hanover and Rhythm In Motion. During an interview with leading driver Doug McNair who guided Hockey Hanover, he commented: “Hopefully (the Covid-19 shut down) was a once in a lifetime thing that we never have to experience again.”
If tonight’s debut show was any indication, we’re in for a great summer of racing action thanks to TSN.