Perhaps the biggest bombshell in the standardbred breeders’ $65 million lawsuit against the province of Ontario and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) over the cancellation of the wildly-successful Slots at Racetracks Program (SARP) is that lawyers allege it was the chief of staff for the former Finance Minister that recommended to give the horse racing industry zero compensation for cancelling SARP.

A 55-page Highlights of the Factum of the Plaintiffs (Summary Judgment) prepared by lawyers representing the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association (SBOA) alleges it was Tim Shorthill, the former chief of staff to former Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, that “decided without any new information, analysis or study” to recommended against the discussed plan to phase SARP out over three years and compensate the industry with $250 million the first year, $150 million in year two and $100 million year three and beyond.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and the case was still not resolved as of the posting of this story despite five days of hearings from Sept. 10-14 in a Brampton, ON courtroom. Word is the case is scheduled to resume in court in December of this year. In the meantime, the on-the-record testimony of a number of top political officials — including two premiers, a finance minister and heads of the OLG and Ontario Racing Commission — makes for fascinating reading for anyone interested in the truth of how and why SARP was cancelled.

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