The Ontario horse racing industry is contributing $4.5 billion or 77 per cent of the total annual economic contributions from racing in Canada, according to a new study released today by Equine Canada and Strategic Equine. The Economics of Horse Racing in Canada, an in‐depth report on the horse racing industry on a province‐by‐province basis, […]
OLG
Members of the Ontario horse racing industry, turned protesters, lined their horse trailers up in front of Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci’s office Friday morning, looking for answers. They want to know what’s going to happen to them and to their horses if Sudbury Downs shuts down in the wake of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming […]
After weeks of misrepresentation of the OLG Slots at Racetracks Program, the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) has begun to set the record straight with newly launched billboards and radio ads. For the next four weeks, more than two-hundred billboards will share the success of the OLG Slots at Racetracks Program with the […]
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has announced the closure of slot operations at Fort Erie, Windsor and Sarnia as of April 30th, as well as the demise of the long-standing revenue-sharing slots-at-racetracks program, set to end next year. OLG has pledged to contribute “reasonable payments” to affected racetrack owners and municipalities until March […]
The announcement by the government to cancel the Slots and Racetracks Program has immediate implications and raises serious concerns about the future of horse racing and breeding in Ontario. At the same time, Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) also recognizes the longer term opportunities presented by OLG’s modernization strategy. Given the success of our long-term partnership, […]
The Ontario government has received a report from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) that proposes modernization of the system, an increase in its revenues by more than $1 billion a year, and the creation of 2,300 net new jobs in the gaming industry and nearly 4,000 additional jobs in the hospitality and retail […]
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan provided an emailed statement to the Windsor Star on Wednesday March 7, 2012, regarding the OLG Slots at Racetrack program that contained a number of inaccurate statements. “Since 1998 the horse racing industry has received $3.4 billion in government support, including $345 million last year alone. That’s more money than […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) is calling on all owners, trainers, grooms, hotwalkers, vet techs, van drivers, blacksmiths and any other concerned horse racing and breeding industry participant to join the OHRIA and associates in writing letters to the Ontario government in support of our ongoing fight to save the Slots at Racetracks Program […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association has been overwhelmed by the support it has been receiving from industry members and the general public over the last two weeks in response to its efforts to protect the OLG Slots at Racetracks Program. “Phones in our office are ringing off the hooks. We are receiving hundreds of […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association is deeply disappointed with the Ontario Liberal Party’s misleading portrayal of the OLG Slots at Racetrack Program. The OLG Slots at Racetrack Program is not a ‘secret subsidy’ that benefits ‘a few wealthy racetrack owners’ as the Liberals falsely claim. It is actually the largest source of revenue for […]
In the late 1990’s and throughout the past decade, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (now the OLG) entered into a revenue sharing agreement with racetrack operators and host municipalities in Ontario to allow the placement of slot machines at racetracks. The racetracks provided the OLG with access to their existing facilities, saving the government […]
The much-anticipated Drummond report, issued February 15th, ahead of Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s budget next month, lists 362 measures for helping to reduce the province’s $16-billion deficit. One of Don Drummond’s recommendations is to allow slot machines at facilities outside of casinos and racetracks. This move would impact the horse racing industry significantly in Ontario. […]
