Despite Delays, Positive Efforts In Ontario

Published: December 21, 2015 09:16 am EST

It has been very frustrating for most of us waiting for the OLG to come up with a plan for their integration with horse racing. I remember back when Kathleen Wynne instructed the OLG to start this process, I was talking to an insider about this integration and telling him that I thought it was important for our industry that the OLG move quickly on it. He said "Jack, this will take much longer than you want. These government bureaucrats know how the system works and will drag it out as long as they can."

Unfortunately, It looks like he was right.

Meanwhile, as we are waiting, there are a couple of positive efforts being made by some players from within our industry itself that are encouraging.

The first one is a proposal by a group of horse people led by Mark Horner, Scott McNiven, Heather Toll and Mark Beaven that would raise purses at certain tracks and make it economically viable to race horses at these tracks. The complete proposal can be seen at this link.

This is a well-written, well thought-out and very thorough document that took much effort and this group deserves a lot of credit for doing it.

We have to deal with the position we have been put in by the cancellation of our slots deal. Trying to survive by racing for purses that are too small just doesn't work. Expenses are too high and even more people will be driven out of the business. This plan shuffles the money around so that when you do ship a horse in to race, it makes economic sense. Naturally, not everyone will agree 100 percent with it but I believe it is best for Ont. racing as a whole. It is this kind of common sense thinking that we need for ourselves and when we are dealing with the government.

The second and most exciting thing for me is the possibility of racing at Mohawk year round. I know there are some who are concerned about losing the Toronto market and I respect their opinions very much. The argument that we should have at least some racing there has merit but I would like to give my thoughts on the issue here.

First of all, I can remember when harness racing first came to Woodbine I thought it would be the greatest thing for us. I was wrong. Woodbine is a fantastic facility for thoroughbred racing but it is a terrible setup for live harness racing, especially for attracting fans and customers in the winter. I won't go into all the reasons why, as they have been discussed fairly thoroughly on this site and are well known to most in the industry. I would rather talk about the positives of racing at Mohawk and what I envision for the future.

Of course for all this to happen, WEG has made it clear that they need a long-term deal with OLG to keep the casino on the Mohawk property. I just can't understand what the holdup is, especially when OLG and horse racing are to be integrated. Mohawk is a tremendous property, is a great location with easy access and the local government wants it so it should be a no-brainer. If and when this happens, WEG is planning on spending millions to winterize and improve the Mohawk facility. Betting and watching races from home is a great thing but I strongly believe that to gain new fans, the tracks have to do all they can to attract people to the live racing. This is why I am so excited about this whole thing. WEG has a chance now to turn Mohawk into a state of the art harness racing facility. Mohawk Racetrack is surrounded by a huge population that want to be entertained. WEG can go after them by providing great restaurants, nice patios, etc. where people can sit and have a drink and enjoy the races up close where the excitement is. The quality of the food and reasonable prices is of course the key to making this all work. A horsepersons' lounge has been discussed and would be a great idea. Owners are harness racing's best customers so giving them the incentive to come to the track and have a comfortable place that they can go to have a drink, something to eat, place some bets and mingle with other horsepeople would be a good thing. A better sound system throughout the grandstand, inside and out is a must to enhance the live racing experience. The paddock is close enough that WEG can explore ways to let the fans have more interaction with the horses. There is even talk about expanding the track to a full mile which would produce better racing. Mohawk is where most horsepeople want to race and the majority of horses are stabled in that general area so with the ease of shipping there and the cost savings, it should help the horse population and help with fuller fields. With good promotion, the betting should follow and give us a nice on-track handle.

The possibilities seem endless and I'm sure there are lots of good ideas out there. I just hope that if this does all materialize, WEG will go all out in its efforts to make Mohawk the place to be. I feel confident that they will. It would be a great shot in the arm for harness racing.


The views presented in Trot Blogs are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Standardbred Canada.

Have something to say about this? Log in or create an account to post a comment.