Harness Edge: Video: Andrea Horwath on Ontario Horse Racing
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath talks to Harold Howe about the state of horse racing in Ontario.
Video: Essex MPP Taras Natyshak Introduces M-15
Taras Natyshak introduces his motion (M-15) to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:
(1) implementation of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.’s transformation of gaming strategy be suspended until after the 2014 municipal elections in order to allow municipalities wanting to be a host site for a casino to undertake a referendum on the issue on or before the 2014 ballot;
(2) a panel composed of representatives nominated by the three recognized parties be tasked with hearing from stakeholders and drafting fair spending limits for parties taking part in the referendum on casinos;
(3) changes to the Slots at Racetracks partnership be frozen in order to enable the horse racing industry to continue to operate while the government engages the industry in a robust consultation with the goal of ensuring its survival, stability and growth; and
(4) current funds from unclaimed purses due to racetrack closures be made available to local or community racetracks
MPP Monty McNaughton: The End Is Near
I rise here this afternoon to draw attention that for Ontario’s horse racing industry and the 60 000 hard-working men and women who are part of it, sadly, the end is near.
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monty McNaughton made a statement in the Legislature today about Ontario’s horse racing industry. You can watch the video at this link:
MPP Monty McNaughton: The End Is Near
CTV Kitchener: Elora, Hanover among horse tracks signing new funding deals
Click here to watch a segment from CTV Kitchener News last night regarding Premier Wynne’s announcement.
Future of Elora harness track remains in question | CTV Kitchener News
(Link to video of Kitchener CTV News segment) Future of Elora harness track remains in question | CTV Kitchener News.
With the clock counting down to the start of the horse racing season, Grand River Raceway in Elora still has no idea how often it will be able to open its doors this year – if at all.
“We don’t know how many days we will race. We don’t know how many races we’ll have per day. We don’t know any of the facts that we need to make proper plans,” says facility general manager Ted Clarke.
Ever since the raceway opened in 2003, it was able to use revenue from slot machines to help keep the track afloat financially.
But in early 2012, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. announced that slots at racetracks were on their way out – if not the machines themselves, at least the revenue-sharing agreements which had been so beneficial to Grand River Raceway and a number of other tracks.
Dwight Duncan, then the province’s finance minister, painted it as a question of priorities.
“When you’re faced between choosing additional home care services versus horse racing … you have to have priorities in this day and age,” he said last March.
Protests at MPPs’ offices and Queen’s Park weren’t enough to convince the government to restore the program, only to land the industry a bit of transitional funding.
Racetracks across the province will receive up to $50 million over the next year to help them through the transition — but that’s down from the $345 million the industry received annually from the slots.
“Now we’re adjusting to a transition program which, unfortunately, isn’t very clear yet at this point in time,” says Clarke.
Many racetracks have negotiated rental agreements with the OLG, allowing them to keep the machines in exchange for a set fee.
Although the fee is much smaller than what the tracks received under the revenue-sharing agreement, the tracks see it as better than getting nothing.
Grand River Raceway has yet to finalize a rental agreement of its own.
Wellington County Video: Restore the Slots at Racetracks Partnership
This is a great documentary put together by Wellington County in support of Ontario’s horse racing industry.
CHCH: Protestors greet Waterdown casino forum
A group of protesters are gathered outside Waterdown District High School ahead of a public meeting about a potential casino in downtown Hamilton.
CTV interview with OHRIA President Sue Leslie
Sue Leslie completed a wide ranging interview with Joe Tilley of CTV and provided him with extensive background information on the horse racing industry in Ontario, information that can be used for future pieces by CTV. Below is a link to a short edited piece of that discussion that was broadcast on CTV News.
Sue Leslie, president of the OHRIA, explains that 55,000 jobs are at risk if Ontario goes ahead with the planned cancellation of its slots and racetrack program.
Racing Future's Dennis Mills Interviewed by John Oakley
Below is a video of an interview by AM640′s John Oakley with Dennis Mills of Racing Future.