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 of these participants, the Ontario horse racing industry is down nearly $850 million investment dollars.
Further, the research indicates that employment of licensed workers at tracks has dropped 28 per cent since 2011, and that for every such job lost, another 2.5 jobs are lost on the farm level.
While Premier Kathleen Wynne has directed the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel to come up with a multi-year plan (due in October) designed to stabilize the industry and move it towards sustainability, these are still very uncertain times for all members of the Ontario racing community.
The OHRIA data is proof of the industry’s hesitance to invest any further until answers have been given. For example, the number of mares bred in Ontario this year has declined 60 per cent compared to 2011, and the number of studs in Ontario has also dropped 54 per cent. Stats from the harness racing sector reveal that the number of owners licensed by the Ontario Racing Commission has dropped 30 per cent and that the number of Standardbred Canada members has dropped 20 per cent since 2011.
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