First night at Adrenaline

I'm here in Sarnia, Ont., with Rich Johnston, our multimedia coordinator. Last night we went to opening night of the Adrenaline Festival, but getting here was somewhat of an adventure.

We didn't know it, but our hotel is so close to the U.S. that we can see the border crossing from our room. Naturally, we drove past it and we were driving past Hiawatha Horse Park before we realized our mistake. We turned around on the 402 and started to head back.

And that's when the rain hit.

In a matter of moments, it was a blinding rainstorm and we were stopped on the freeway. Later I found out from festival organizer Mark Hetherman that the rain had flooded the paddock and Standardbred Canada CEO Ted Smith there were some power outages in the area. This was three hours before the event was scheduled to begin. By the time we reached the hotel the rain had stopped completely.

We got at the track around 5:15 p.m. with the opening ceremonies set to begin at 6:30. We hadn't been to Hiawatha Horse Park before, but were impressed by the cleanliness and layout of the plant. We went outside and saw that an entire area was set up further down the stretch with rib vendors, a climbing wall and a stage, but the rain and the fact that it was Thursday night may have kept the crowds down.

We talked to several interesting and engaging people on the Canadian harness racing scene, too. In addition to Smith, we talked to Hector Cloutier, the executive director of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association, and Chris Roberts, who at Georgian Downs introduced Xtreme Horsepower racing to Canada. Check out the videos on ustrotting.com to see what they have to say.

For me, Xtreme Horsepower was the highlight of the night. The concept is a series of odd-distance races, from an eighth of a mile to 1-1/4 miles. The eighth-mile race was over before it started (12.4 seconds), but I liked the 1-1/4-mile races--until the horse I picked managed to get parked for more than a mile!

I can't wait to get back out there tonight. It's Friday night, and with the band challenge, I think the crowds will be out. Rich will produce a video that will air next week, so if you couldn't make it out, he'll be sure you felt like you were there.