Page 14 - 11 May 2012

AN UPHILL BATTLE
Ontario horse racing continues to fight.
The story of the Ontario horse racing industry should be a warning call to all jurisdictions which rely upon slot revenues to bolster purses...
by Kim Ito
The battle continues into May for the Ontario horse racing industry. As horsemen continue to prepare for opening day on May 13 at Ajax Downs, many are wondering how many more years they will be able to compete in Ontario.
As reported last month, there was hope that
the new provincial budget would be overturned precipitating an election, which would open up the possibility for the Liberal minority government to be voted out of power. If this had happened there was some hope that, at the very most, the original pro- gram would be resurrected, or at the very least, there would be some change to the current plan, especially considering that it was the Conservative Party which originally formed the program. Despite the fact that the Conservative Party voted against the budget, the New Democratic Party (NDP) bargained for conces- sions from the Liberals and in turn did not vote on the budget, allowing for its acceptance. Although one of the NDP’s demands of the Liberals was “transi- tional funding” for the horse racing industry, there has been little information available on what that will mean for industry stakeholders.
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association’s (OHRIA) next step is supporting a bill to require a referendum in all jurisdictions before any new gam- bling venues can be built. The Ontario government has indicated racetracks which currently house slot machines will, in most cases, be allowed to put in a quote for future plans, but they have also stated they will be taking offers from other sources. If this bill
is passed, it will mean that the Ontario government will be limited to having only the current gambling venues, namely racetracks, at which to house their slot parlors. As referendums are held during munici- pal elections, this will mean that racetrack operators would have more bargaining power at the table for the next 2-3 years. The vote was set for May 3.
The Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium, a non- profit group which has been managing Fort Erie Racetrack, was set to have a meeting with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) on May 1. Fort Erie Racetrack is one of three slot venues which were permanently closed as of April 30, 2012. The Consortium is hoping to convince the OLG that there is no need to close the facility permanently, and is looking to take over the management of the slots to the benefit of the racetrack, the town and the OLG.
For breeders, all of this uncertainty has made
for some difficult decisions. Not knowing what the future holds, some feel that they must make their decisions blindly. However, there are some who are not letting a little thing like slot revenues get in their way. Belinda Taggart and Joyce Lehtinen are two Ontario breeders who have had great success. Both began breeding before the slots agreement ever came to Ontario, and both are determined to continue, albeit maybe with a change or two.
Taggart is the breeder of AQHA Canadian Champion First Kool Money and owner of the dam of AQHA Canadian Champion One Kool Wave. “It was a rude awakening. They say, ‘The higher you climb, the farther you fall,’” said Taggart. “Our industry rose so high with the Slots At Racetracks program—we were seeing so much growth and promise. Now with everything happening, it doesn’t have me looking too far forward.” But, despite the uncertainty, her plans
are to keep moving forward. “I have been racing in Ontario for 30 years. If there is racing, I’ll be racing.
I don’t want to sell them. I don’t want to have to ship them south to run. I want to run them here. If we are down to $2,000 purses, we did it before so I guess we’ll do it again. We will just keep on going, and hope there will be racing somewhere up here.”
Joyce Lehtinen, along with husband Erik and daughter Miranda at JEM Farms, bred AQHA Canadian Champion The Diamond Side. Lehtinen
is also making some changes to her previous plans. “I am definitely breeding this year, but breeding less. I am also choosing U.S. stallions to make them more marketable down south. I don’t necessarily want to sell them, but I also want to have options if circumstances dictate. There are so many rumors going around at the moment that it’s hard to know what is true and what is not. But we were breeding before the slots and we still will be, to a certain extent, if they are gone for good. I may sell some of my mares, but I am going to keep my core mares. I may sell a few of our babies, and if racing folds up here, we’ll race down south.”
Although there will be some funds left in reserve at the end of this season, there are likely to be big changes to the Ontario program in years to come. Purses will drop, breeding incentives may go by the wayside and stake purses will dwindle significantly without corporate sponsorship. The story of the Ontario horse racing indus- try should be a warning call to all jurisdictions which rely upon slot revenues to bolster purses and industry programs. He that giveth, may also taketh away.
12 SPEEDHORSE, May 11, 2012
AROUND THE GLOBE