Uncertainty envelops horse racing season

Monday, January 7, 2013

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

There is mounting concern that Ontario’s horse racing industry may have trouble getting out of the gate again after March 31. That’s when the last scheduled races take place under the Slots at Racetracks Program (SARP).  

A government panel has recommended reducing the number of tracks, cutting the number of race dates in half and filling purses with money from pari-mutuel wagering. However, Bob Seguin, executive director of the George Morris Centre, says that horse racing industry transition panel final report, released Oct. 30, needs government and industry action to have any impact.  

“The implementation of the panel (recommendations) could be delayed, forestalled or shifted to another plane,” Seguin says. “If you’re going to have racing in 2013, there are certain timelines that will still be critical to meet.” There are several other factors to determine, he adds, such as deciding which tracks will remain, whether those tracks can meet the race dates, whether they will have enough horses and whether the purses will be big enough.

Seguin says there is a lot of work to do, but when you throw in government uncertainty it is an even greater challenge. “At the moment,” Seguin says, “the government can make those decisions, but will it make it prior to the leadership? Will it make it after the leadership decision and will it make it before the house returns? All these things are in play.”

Sue Leslie, president of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA), says the process to set race dates after March 31 is going slowly.

“What’s happening right now is the OLG (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation) is in negotiations with racetrack operators to try and obtain lease agreements and that’s the first step in the process” of setting race dates. She says few agreements have been reached.

While Leslie says she’s hopeful, she also says “the OLG and the minister of finance are just not moving this thing at a pace that’s acceptable. We’re trying to operate in good faith and trying to get something done so the industry doesn’t end up destroyed.”

She also says, and Seguin agrees, that the panel and government decision not to say how much money is available to transition the industry from slot income – estimated at about $350 million a year – to wagering income is a problem.

“We’re running out of time,” Leslie says. BF