Six Ontario racetrack transition funding agreements signed, more to come

by SUSAN MANN

Premier and Agriculture Minister Kathleen Wynne says her government will sign more three-year transition funding agreements with Ontario racetracks in the coming weeks similar to the ones signed with four tracks recently.

But the government isn’t yet releasing details on the amount of funding the tracks are getting. Blane McPhail, Wynne’s spokesman, says by email that negotiations with a number of tracks are still ongoing so it wouldn’t be appropriate to disclose funding information at this time.

The agreements are to replace the cancelled revenue sharing slot machine program. That program provided tracks with $350 million a year. The industry’s share of revenue from the program ends March 31.

Wynne announced that tentative agreements were signed with Western Fair, Clinton, Hanover and Grand River racetracks. She made the announcement at the Grand River Raceway in Elora today.

Sue Leslie, president of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association, says Wynne’s announcement is a positive development. “It was a much needed policy change in order for horse racing to be sustained going forward. I’m happy with the progress that has been achieved through the (Horse Racing Industry) Transition Panel and through Premier Wynne.”

The four agreements announced Friday are in addition to ones the government signed on Jan. 23 with the Woodbine Entertainment Group, the province’s largest horse racing provider and the operator of Woodbine and Mohawk racetracks.

“We are expecting that more will come in the weeks to come,” Wynne says. “The negotiations are still ongoing.”

Leslie says her association hasn’t been told how much transition funding each track is getting. But considering the layoffs and program changes taking place at the tracks, Leslie says in her opinion the government transition funding is “nowhere near where the old line of income was at.”

Leslie says she doesn’t think all tracks will necessarily sign transition agreements with the government. “They’ll take their lease money because they still have slots and rather than invest that in horse racing because it’s expensive to put on a day of horse racing, they’ll just elect not to open for racing and just put that lease money on their bottom line.”

So far, six tracks have agreed that they’re going to run racing, she says. They’ll know by later this month how many others will also run racing.

Wynne says the next step is ensuring race dates for the 2013 season will be in place “and provide long term stability to the industry.”

The government has always maintained it wants to have a sustainable horse racing industry and that’s why the all-party Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel was set up, she says. Made up of former cabinet ministers Elmer Buchanan, John Snobelen and John Wilkinson, the panel released its final report in October 2012.

The government plans to continue working with the panel. “I’m going to be looking to them for continued advice over the weeks to come.”

Wynne says she is committed to ensuring one of the key recommendations of the panel happens, and that is to integrate horse racing with the provincial gaming strategy. “It has been made clear to me and I absolutely accept that it makes more sense to integrate these two endeavors.” This move will ensure racetracks have access to revenue from new and different gaming opportunities and that was another recommendation of the panel.

Leslie says their view is integration must happen fairly soon. “That is the only thing that will stabilize investment in our industry.” People who want to invest in racing stock and breeding need to know there’s a long-term industry ahead of them. “If they think there’s just transition agreements, who’s going to go buy a mare and breed a mare? It’s a five year cycle.”

Oxford MPP Ernie Hardman, who is also the Progressive Conservative party’s agriculture critic, says he was surprised Wynne did not make the announcement at the Western Fair, the largest of the tracks. The London Free Press had reported that Wynne had turned down an invitation to attend the 75th anniversary of the fair’s farm show that has been underway this week.

“I’ve said right from the start that when she appointed herself as minister of agriculture that there would be time constraints and she would not be able to attend those functions that I think people kind of expect the minister of agriculture to attend,” he says.

Gabrielle Gallant, Wynne’s agriculture and food press secretary, says by email the premier had to turn down the invitation because she was in Elora Friday meeting with stakeholders to talk about the future of horse racing in Ontario. She will continue meeting with as many stakeholders as possible to ensure that rural communities have a strong voice at the table as part of the new Ontario government.

Gallant says Wynne recognizes the importance of the food sector to Ontario’s economy as one of the largest and most competitive food clusters in North America. “Further to that, the premier will be in London twice over the next two weeks.”  BF