By Dean Towers

For as long as I can remember, this is the time of the year when the reports start filtering in from trainers to owners about how our yearling stock is doing. With stakes payments to the Metro or Sweetheart due this month, it’s always pretty dicey.
Having been involved in the game in Ontario in previous years, I know the pressure. Will we need to stake this one to all the big ones? Should we hold off because the filly has a curb? Does the trotter show enough maturity to be a candidate for the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series? Can we afford the thousands upon thousands to stake these horses?
Owning horses is supposed to be fun, not an exercise in how much money one has in his or her bank account to stake a two-year-old. In previous years, I never found this time of year overly “fun,” but I’m happy to report that this year it’s a whole lot different.
Last October, I made a decision that I wanted to buy a couple of yearlings – not at Harrisburg, but at the sale in Truro. Seeing as I am spending more time on the East Coast I felt it was not only good to support the business out here, but (if I’m lucky) to potentially have a little bit of fun in the summer watching a horse or two that I own line up behind the gate. In addition, I have not seen all the tracks in the Maritimes yet, and I really want to. I thought it was a win-win.
When I got to the sale I immediately noticed things were not like I was used to. In Truro there was nothing happening for show. No one seemed to care what kind of car you drove up in, or what horse you may have owned before, or what kind of bankroll you had. There were no whisper deals being made. There was no rumour filtering the shedrow. It was simply a sale with some folks who like working with horses, and owning horses, trying to find one that might race. I found it really refreshing; and in my heart, I felt it was what harness racing has always been about and what I’ve enjoyed about it since I was a little kid.
I bought two horses at the sale, and since then I have felt no pressure at all. It’s not because of their price and breeding; I think Maritimers have better stock than some people give them credit for. It’s just because I feel much different this year.
Stakes payment time is upon us and I heard recently that my horses are doing okay, so I suspect I should stake them to a few events, just like many of you are doing this month. I likely will, but if they don’t make the dances they are staked for, it’s no big deal to me. It’s not going to put me in the poorhouse, and we’ll live to fight another day.
The Cancielliere brothers shelled out $825,000 for a full brother to Donato Hanover in Harrisburg last November. I’m sure they’re dreaming of winning all the big ones while they stake the colt to everything this month. They seem like great guys and I wish them well. But I’m pretty happy with my dreams this February too. I’m dreaming of sitting at the CDP with a beer and a few buddies this summer, hoping one of ours makes the gate. If so, life’s good.