The Township of Langley in British Columbia, Canada is pushing to develop 32 acres within the municipality as a new horse racing track that could replace two existing ones: Vancouver’s Hastings Park and Surrey’s Fraser Downs.
The Township sent a letter to the B.C. Horse Racing Industry Management Committee, which noted that the council passed a motion July 27,2020 to signal its interest in becoming a host local government as a partner with Kwantlen First Nation for a race track.
The letter, which was obtained by the Langley Advance Times, said the township “would like to explore the relocation of the two major racetracks, both thoroughbred and standardbred, to a new one-mile, all-weather racetrack and training center to be established on agricultural land in the township … which would include a teletheatre (racebook) and, when permitted, an ancillary gaming facility.”
The town’s staff was also instructed to reach out to industry stakeholder groups, Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and other casino operators. They were also told to contact operators of the Hastings Racecourse Casino and Fraser Downs at Elements Casino.
Township Councilor Bob Long told the Advance Times, “We’re just delighted at the concept. It really, really seems like a good fit,” and pointed out that Langley has thousands of horses and is considered the “Horse Capital” of the province.
