Last spring, a group of Standardbred breeders from Ontario launched a lawsuit against the province and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). The group, made of up breeders from nearly 40 Ontario farms, alleged that when then OLG announced the cancellation of the lucrative Slots at Racetracks Program (SARP) in March 2012, giving only […]
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The NDP responds to the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association questionnaire: 1. Do you agree with this statement and will you support racetracks as sites for expanded gaming centres? Yes, the Ontario NDP agrees that tapping into the potential of racetracks as gaming centres should be a top priority. We have to rely on a […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) was not surprised by the findings contained in the Auditor General’s Report on the Ontario Lottery and Gaming’s (OLG’s) Modernization Plan considering the devastation the horse racing and breeding industry has endured since the cancellation of the Slots at Racetracks Program (SARP). “It is troubling when your own […]
A 2012 plan to modernize the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) and generate higher profits for the province was “overly ambitious” and “overly optimistic,” Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk said in a Special Report released today. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s Modernization Plan Special Report also found that the “abrupt cancellation” of a program […]
Ontario has released a five-year plan for a sustainable horse racing industry in the province based on the final Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel report. The plan will strengthen the industry and support future growth by: Providing up to $400 million over five years to sustain a wide range of racing opportunities that are supported by strong […]
Rural Ontario knows the pain the Region of Waterloo is feeling as they brace for the massive layoffs Blackberry has recently announced. Since the cancellation of the Slots at Racetracks Program last year, job losses and business closures in Ontario’s horse racing industry are more than double the expected worldwide losses of Blackberry as they […]
The following is a letter from Nick Eaves, president and CEO of the Woodbine Entertainment Group: As you are well aware, there has been a lot of activity over the last few weeks in connection with the Province’s stated commitment to a sustainable horse racing industry as well as the ongoing casino process. Over the […]
The province has announced that the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) will give $80.6-million as compensation to those racetracks that invested in their infrastructure by expanding their facilities to make room for the introduction of slots over a decade ago. While the details of the agreements are confidential, it has been reported that Great Canadian […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) is concerned that the integration of horse racing into the OLG’s Gaming Strategy will be impossible if the existing OLG Modernization Plan continues to go forward. The OLG’s announcement of the RFPQs (Request for Pre-Qualification) for their Southwest Gaming Bundle puts Ontario’s horse racing industry at further risk […]
If you weren’t at City Hall on Tuesday, you will likely have heard by now that Toronto City Council voted against expanded gaming at Woodbine Racetrack. In the end, it was a very close vote – 24 to 20, as opposed to the 40-to-4 vote against a downtown casino. Needless to say, we are shocked […]
Paul Godfrey, chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), has been fired. And, as a result, all seven members of the OLG Board of Directors have resigned. Godfrey, who took on the role as chair of the OLG in 2009, has reinvented the organization, helping it become modern and more efficient, according to […]
As reported on May 13th, Ontario’s Premier, Kathleen Wynne, has tasked the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel with producing a draft plan for integrating horse racing into the Ontario gaming strategy by June, and a final plan by October. Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) president, Sue Leslie, recently did an At the Gate podcast […]
Ontario has asked the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel to bring forward a long-term plan to implement recommendations from its final report. As transition funding negotiations with track operators are now substantially complete, the province has asked the panel for a plan that sets a clear path forward on: • modernizing the governance and regulation […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) has designed a survey to gather information with which to present an accurate picture of the personal effect the cancellation of slots at the racetracks (SARP) has had on the horse racing and breeding industry in Ontario. While industry participants may be aware of the devastating effects the OLG’s […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) is calling on Premier Kathleen Wynne to pause the OLG’s modernization process until after the Auditor General releases his report on the decisions surrounding the OLG modernization plan. Today, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts voted to ask the Auditor General to investigate the OLG’s process in determining […]
