Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Liberal Party respond to the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association questionnaire: Q: In their 2013 report, the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel stated: “…one of the most important aspects of integration: [is] the use of racetracks as gaming centres. Ontario communities support enhanced gaming opportunities at tracks, and new […]
Premier Kathleen Wynne
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 […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) is pleased with the personal attention and progress that Premier Kathleen Wynne has given to ensuring the survival of the province’s horse racing and breeding industry. The recently negotiated five-year deal, which provides the industry with some stability, is much appreciated. The ultimate survival of the industry, which […]
Premier Kathleen Wynne is expected to announce, on March 31st, that she will increase funding to the Ontario horse racing industry from $400 million promised last fall, to $500 million, over the next five years. Reportedly, the additional funds are intended to help breeders and are earmarked for regional tracks in Fort Erie, Ottawa and […]
The Board of Directors of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario, (HBPA), is pleased to advise there will be live thoroughbred racing at Fort Erie Race Track in 2014. Meetings to organize, schedule and promote the race meet at the historic border oval are taking place. Horse people can assist by spreading this […]
New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath was in Niagara today to attend the last races of the season at Fort Erie Race Track. She was joined by NDP horse racing advocate Taras Natyshak. From a grandstand packed with horse racing fans, Horwath rejected Kathleen Wynne’s view that there’s no future for the Fort Erie Race Track. […]
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 […]
According to the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA), since the end of the slots-at-racetracks program in 2011, approximately 9,000 jobs have been lost and 3,000 owners have pulled out of the industry. Taking into consideration stats from 2010, which indicated that each owner invests an average of $279,000 per horse annually, with the loss […]
The following letter was written by Premier Kathleen Wynne regarding the state of horse racing in Ontario: The new Ontario government believes in a strong, sustainable future for the horse racing industry in this province. We have a plan, guided by the report of the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel, for a way forward that […]
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 […]
