Liberal MPP's Pro-Racing Proposal

Published: August 16, 2012 04:58 pm EDT

According to a report, on Thursday, August 16, Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal held a press conference at his constituency office to publicly release his proposal for the future of the Ontario horse-racing industry --- one which would keep slot machines at eight to 10 racetracks via a modified version of the slots-at-racetracks program.

The article by The Peterborough Examiner explains that under Leal's proposal, if racetrack slots are ultimately relocated, raceways would still be allowed to retain some of the revenue from the machines as a way of maintaining the horse racing industry.

“All these dollars stay locally and it creates jobs for people,” Leal was quoted as saying in the report. “It’s not a subsidy, but it’s an investment.”

Leal has submitted his proposal to the OMAFRA panel that is reviewing the industry's transition from the slots-at-racetrack program.

The article states that the proposal also includes a recommendation to review whether the government should give money to non-profit instead of for-profit companies that run racetracks.

The article quoted Leal as saying, “I think we need appropriate oversight, whether it’s for-profit or not-for-profit, to make sure that any approaches that we take the dollars that are intended for the horse-racing industry go back into the horse racing industry… to sustain a viable industry.”

“It’s encouraging that some Liberal MPPs have recognized the importance of the horse racing industry and they feel the need now to work with us to find a path forward,” Ontario Harness Horse Association Rep. Dave Gibson was quoted as saying. “I don’t think as an industry we want to see any racetracks lost, but if this model comes to fruition we’ll deal with what we have to deal with.”

(With files from The Peterborough Examiner)

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