Drawing of West Meadows Racetrack, which will be built about three kilometres west of the Regina airport, officials say. (West Meadows Raceway)

Although harness racing in Regina was stopped in its tracks several years ago after Queensbury Downs closed, work has now begun on a new facility just west of the city.

West Meadows Raceway is just a farmer's field today, but earth-moving machinery has begun scouring a line in the ground, and soon an oval will take shape, officials say.

A group of investors led by Glenn LeDrew is trying to help the sport make a comeback. They're using private money and a loan to build a track, stables and a modest clubhouse.

"You have a group here that wants to continue to race," LeDrew said. "We're doing what we can to boost the industry to help it grow here locally."

Glenn LeDrew says a roughly 800-metre long track will be built on this field. (John Weidlich/CBC)

If things go smoothly, West Meadows will be a centerpiece of harness racing in Saskatchewan, he said.

"In Saskatchewan, we never did have a place where horsemen could train all year long," he said. "We never had a permanent place where there would be a long-term guarantee that racing would continue to exist. That's what we have in this place here now."

The plan is for West Meadows Raceway to be the third stop in the Saskatchewan harness racing circuit, which includes Yorkton Exhibition Park and Marquis Downs in Saskatoon.

Assuming everything goes according to plan, horses could be training on the site by the fall, with the first races in the summer of 2009, he said.