MESSAGE FROM HBPA OF ALBERTA PRESIDENT – DR. STEVEN SMITH DVM

MESSAGE FROM HBPA OF ALBERTA

PRESIDENT – DR. STEVEN SMITH DVM

March 8, 2016

HBPA members and supporters of the thoroughbred horse racing industry in Alberta:

Since the announcement of the closure of the Northlands Park Horseracing Facility at the end of the 2016 racing season there has been a great deal of support for the racing industry in the media, on social media and at open houses hosted by Northlands.

It is important for the public, the City of Edmonton and the Provincial Government to know that horse racing matters to a lot of people. I appreciate the good work that different supporters of the industry have done in getting our message out. To that end The HBPA of Alberta supports a positive message – we are an important contributor to the Alberta economy that a lot of people depend on and care about.

However, HBPA does not condone personal attacks, threats, or unprofessional conduct of any kind – this includes social media. We all represent this industry that matters so much to us and unprofessional behavior reflects poorly on the entire industry. Negotiations pertaining to the 2016 season and beyond are ongoing – any negative feelings directed towards thoroughbred horse people as a whole because of one person’s actions do not serve us well.

There will be more information released with respect to the 2016 season in the coming days. Keep up the good work in getting our message out there.

Dr. Steven D Smith DVM