The High River Agricultural Society has approximately $8,000 more this year for its chuckwagon races, but that money will be gone quicker than Mark Sutherland or Jason Glass turning a barrel.
The 36 tarps for the Guy Weadick Chuckwagon Races on June 16-17 and June 22-24 sold for $227,000 at the World Professional Chuckwagon Association (WPCA) auction on April 3 in Calgary. That’s up from $183,000 last year.
With the ag society getting 20 per cent of the total ($45,400) and the drivers getting the remaining 80 per cent, it means it has about $8,000 more to spend on the races this season.
“All the money will go back to the drivers in the form of prize money,” said Bill Long, the chairman of the Guy Weadick races. “We have an added an extra day of races and we will have a Dash (for Cash) final.“
The High River Ag Society was able to add another day to its annual races when Drumheller dropped out of the (WPCA) tour. In previous years the races ran over four days from the Thursday to Sunday. This time the races will run on a Saturday and Sunday (June 16-17) and then from Friday to Sunday (June 22, 23, 24).
“Usually they just add another day, like on the Wednesday,” Long said. “But we thought with the open weekend why not split it over two weekends, rather than on a Wednesday when you won’t draw as many people.”
The five dates allows the organization to hold a Dash for Cash, which wasn’t possible with just four dates. A driver must have the chance to start from each of the four barrel positions to have a dash. The drivers with the four lowest times after four days, will race in the Dash for Cash final now on June 25.
In previous days, the High River champion was the one with the lowest cumulative time over the four-days.
Although having a final dash is exciting for the fans, it cost the society some money.
“There is a minimum you have to have for the dash and it is slightly more than $10,000,” Long said. He added there are some parties who have shown interest in sponsoring the final dash.
A long-time supporter of chuckwagon racing in the province said he believes he is getting a bigger bank for his buck.
Doug McLaughlin has been buying driver Colt Cosgrave’s tarp in High River since Colt was practically a foal. He paid $10,000 to have the ’Plex’s name on top of Cosgrave’s polka-dotted wagon.
“More people will see my wagon,” McLaughlin said. “It’s a better investment as an advertiser.”
Okotoks chuckwagon driver Mark Sutherland said having the drivers in the foothills during a four-day break would provide them a chance to promote the sport.
He said some ideas being kicked around are a charity golf tournament, some promotions with the Okotoks Dawgs and having drivers partake in the Spirit of Okotoks parade on June 16.
Kelly “The King” Sutherland received the highest bid for the Guy Weadick races at $16,000 by Tervita. High River’s Jason Glass went to World Financial Group’s Dave Limpert from Okotoks for $13,000.
Okotoks’ Mark Sutherland and Cosgrave rounded out the top four bids for the High River races at $10,000 each.
Sutherland’s tarp was bought by his friend Andy Makelki of Tri-Mak Electrical of High River.
Okotoks Rentals purchased Cody Ridsdale’s tarp for $4,250.
Some of the other foothills area companies, which bought tarps, include Becker Exploration, Bill Niemans Water Well Drilling, Highwood Distillers and Peter Niemans Water Well Drilling.
The High River Ag Society changed the named of its races to the Guy Weadick Chuckwagon Races in honour of Weadick who was the brainchild of the Calgary Stampede 100 years ago.
Weadick is the former owner of the Stampede Ranch, west of Longview. He is buried at the High River cemetery.
