The following press release was sent out this Thursday by Prairieland Park, operator of Saskatchewan’s only horse racing venue, Marquis Downs. There was no racing in the Canadian province in 2020 due to COVID-19, and last week, a potential investor pulled out of negotiations to host a 2021 race meet.
After much consideration and discussion, Prairieland Park regretfully announces the cancellation of the 2021 Thoroughbred racing season at Marquis Downs in Saskatoon.
This is the second year in a row that Prairieland has had to make this difficult decision. Given the ongoing restrictions surrounding Covid-19, including logistical issues related to the ability to get jockeys into Canada given travel restrictions, quarantine requirements, visa
approvals, and extremely limited airline scheduling to the Caribbean, meant that Prairieland could not commit to a race meet this year.
Seventy-six percent of our professional jockeys come from the Caribbean.
Like many other businesses, Prairieland Park has seen a 90 percent reduction in its overall operations. Net profit declined by 82 percent in 2020 and projected losses from this year will exceed $2,000,000. Prairieland’s revenue is derived from trade shows, banquets, agricultural exhibitions, and the Exhibition itself. All of these business units have been unable to open due to Covid-19 and the effect of that has been a significant reduction in revenues.
To help maintain its strong balance sheet Prairieland Park has been forced to make many difficult decisions over the last year. The primary commitment is opening operations when safe to do so.
As other public health restrictions are more clearly known, Prairieland will make further announcements, including the status of the Saskatoon EX.
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