The Canadian Sportsman

In our May 1, 2008 edition, The Sportsman featured a story about McLoone’s at Favorites restaurant, New Jersey’s first state-owned off-track wagering facility (OTW), located in Woodbridge, NJ. Owned by famous NJ-entertainer Tim McLoone, the son of former Freehold Raceway president Joe McLoone, Favorites set out to add style, class and sophistication to the concept of an OTW when it opened in October of 2007.

So far, so good. In its first full year of operation, the Woodbridge OTW handled $95.3 million, a pace that it has continued to keep up since then, cementing itself as the nation’s leading off-track betting facility.

On the heels of the impressive numbers posted at the Woodbridge location, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority opened a similar state-of-the-art OTW in Toms River, NJ in April 2008 and have also received approval for another in Bayonne, NJ.

In our Aug. 14, 2008 issue, The Sportsman featured the development of the Regional Equine & Agriculture Centre of Huron (REACH) in Clinton, ON, which will function as a “motel for education”, offering innovative programming as well as recreational activities to support both the equine and agricultural industries.
 
On-site facilities include an Olympic-sized indoor arena, warm-up arena, two oversized outdoor show rings, and facilities for show stabling, RV parking, high-tech classrooms, dorm rooms and a community kitchen.
As construction continues in advance of REACH’s grand opening on Sept. 12, 2009, the centre played host to its first clinic, a seminar on lunging with expert Ilka Boecker, in June. Recently, the centre held two youth camps — “Own A Horse” from Aug. 10 to Aug. 14 and “Agri-Camp” from Aug. 17 to Aug. 21.
 
Following the grand opening, activities at REACH will ramp up significantly with short courses in horse care and equine production planned for the fall, as well as community ‘ride’ nights and a new partnership with Georgian College, which will see part of the college’s Food Service Worker program take place in REACH’s state-of-the-art community kitchen.

The Ottawa Senators have removed the ‘interim’ tag from head coach Cory Clouston, signing the harness racing enthusiast, who was featured in The Sportsman’s March 5 edition, to a two-year contract extension.

Clouston, the nephew of Alberta horseman Rod Hennessey, took over the Sens head coaching job on Feb. 2 after Craig Hartsburg was fired. The team, which missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1995-1996 season, improved dramatically under Clouston’s leadership late in the season.

Despite his job security thanks to his new contract, all is not rosy for Clouston this offseason. The Senators’ top sniper and two-time 50 goal scorer Dany Heatley has asked to be traded before next season, citing dissatisfaction with his role in Clouston’s system.