Toronto City Council has approved expanded gaming at Woodbine Racetrack by a vote of 26 to 15.
City Council based its decision to support expanded gaming and an integrated entertainment complex on the nearly 700-acre site in north Toronto based on a City Manager’s report which detailed the successful commitment or resolution of 21 conditions. City Council set the 21 conditions in 2015 when expanded gaming was conditionally approved.
Expanded gaming on the site will be a catalyst for future development, which may now begin in earnest.
“We are pleased that council chose to support jobs, development and the vitality that expanded gaming will bring to this portion of the city,” said Jim Lawson, CEO Woodbine Entertainment. “We look forward to co-creating an exciting future on this site with our partners OGGTA.”
Since assuming control of gaming operations from OLG in January, OGGTA, a partnership between Great Canadian Gaming and Brookfield Business Partners, have begun to transform gaming on the site. Combined with exciting Woodbine initiatives such as the installation of an inner turf course, a company-wide brand refresh, and the upcoming Queen’s Plate Festival featuring country-superstar Brad Paisley, the development signals a compelling future for horse racing in Toronto.
(Woodbine Entertainment)
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When harness racing was at
When harness racing was at its peak in the past, there were tracks in the urban centers. I know a lot has changed over the years, but I believe a key factor in growing the sport is to make it easily accessible to the masses. If the Maple Leafs or Blue Jays played in Elora for example, they wouldn't get twenty or forty thousand people attending the games. So why do we expect that having harness tracks almost exclusively in small markets is going to grow the sport? Just seems to me that harness racing once again gets the short end of the stick in this deal.