Canadian tycoon E.P. Taylor died 30 years ago, but not before leaving Ontario horse racing the keys to a sustainable future. The patriarch of famed Windfields Farm — and the man who gave us the indomitable Northern Dancer — was also instrumental in assembling the land on which Woodbine Racetrack was built.
That 700-acre parcel near Toronto’s Pearson Airport is the largest undeveloped tract of land in any major city in Canada. Woodbine Entertainment Group CEO Jim Lawson said it is that land that will allow horse racing to thrive for many years.
How, exactly, will a plot of land help horse racing thrive?
Lawson said the land’s location and size makes it incredibly valuable. Leasing the land for development will result in a direct cash flow for WEG. Since WEG is a non-profit corporation whose sole mandate is to support horse racing, the money from leasing the land will go directly to enhance the sport.
“We’re not looking to sell land, because selling the land would just be a case of having a major short-term flow of cash, likely to be spent,” Lawson said. “We’re really planning on entering into long-term land leases and gaining consistent cash flow for our capital plant here.”
Lawson said that cash flow is critical to reversing the declining popularity in horse racing — both on the ownership and betting side — and helping pay operating costs of some $100 million annually to support two oversized racetrack structures — Woodbine and its sister harness track, Mohawk Park.
But how does a cash-challenged organization focused on horse racing get land development started?
Lawson said a joint venture with construction giant EllisDon is an important part of the equation.
“EllisDon is going to be working with us and they have the capital to invest. Obviously, there will be a trade-off between our land value and the capital they put in to come up with an economic deal that works for both sides, but it’s the only way that we can see to make it work is to use our land value to develop the lands,” Lawson said.
Metrolinx announced the approval of a GO Station on Wodbine property. WEG has secured EllisDon as the development and construction partner for the GO Station
Earlier this year, Metrolinx announced the approval of a new GO Station on Woodbine Entertainment property. WEG has secured EllisDon as the development and construction partner for the GO Station, which is also a huge part of a sustainable future for horse racing.
“It makes sense for transit to be here and we’re hoping for a Union-Pearson stop because that will also deliver young people from downtown the opportunity to work here,” Lawson said.
The entertainment phase of the development should be completed in the next three or four years.
“The first phase is really Woodbine Square,” he said. “If you can picture the current paddock, just north of that today will be Woodbine Square… If you’ve been to Gulfstream Park, it’ll be like Gulfstream on steroids, in terms of a big, open space where maybe we can have concerts, but it will all centre around the racetrack.”
The entertainment district — featuring food and beverage and “maybe some retail or low-storey office space” — will be followed by plans for an educational and technology park and “a large swath of land along highway 427 that we’ve dedicated to recreational and park land or sports facilities.”
After that, plans call for a major residential development.
All of which will bring more people to the site where WEG can expose them directly to horse racing.
“It’s no secret that if you bring 10, 12, 13 million people into our backyard, it gives us every opportunity to expose those people to racing, market our product to them and, hopefully, attract new investors and new horse owners,” Lawson said. “We’re committed to racing being the centre piece of this whole development… The focal point will be the racetrack. The grand entrance coming in will be right into Woodbine Square.”
