Five-Year Plan For Ontario Racing

Ms. Wynne may have some good ideas and certainly they should get the sport out of the quagmire it has been in for the past year or so. But horsemen have to look after their own interests. I would advise the various horsemens' associations (and in my opinion there should only be one) to keep a watchful eye on this plan. The phrases "channeling the money", "provide help to" "invested in", "sustainable" and "subsidy" can easily at a future date be construed to mean "taking funds from schools and hospitals" to support Horse Racing. This could be lethal to the sport. I much prefer the correct term "revenue sharing" which it is and was.
Probably the thoughts of an old retired horseman will not count for much, but I would hate to see the purses and benefits that we fought so hard for in the past go down the drain simply because the horsemen (yes the horse people not the government or the tracks) are asleep at the switch.

John S Findley, D.V.M.

Past President United Harness Horsemens Assoc. of Canada

Past Vice President Ontario Harness Horsemens Assoc.

Past Director of the Canadian Trotting Assoc.

Past Director of The Canadian Standard Bred Horse Society

Past driver, trainer, owner, breeder and presently very interested person.

What happened to Rideau Carleton?

Ted Fenic and Tim p,

I am petrified, terrified, horrified, mortified, stupefied and any other fied that you can think of, as to how you believe that raising the takeout by 5% is the solution for solving the industries problems. It would put the final nail in the coffin.

Mr Towers and everyone else.

You bring up the RDSP plan, how about this instead?

I posted this a month ago on a blog here and hardly got a response. My guess is because people only like taking and not giving back. Soemtimes drastic measures need to be taken when an industry is on borrowed time and have never learned from their mistakes and better yet their sad lack of vision towards the future. (Please note that I have edited a small portion since)

From last Saturday to this Saturday in Ontario there was approximately 2040 horses that raced.

If the industry charged each horse that raced an entry fee (like New York does) of $10, the Ontario industry would have netted $20,400 in 7 days. Multiply that over a year period ($20,400 x 56 weeks) and you would have a rough estimate of $1,142,000.

Buy why stop there. Since everyone is a part of this industry, implement a driver and trainer fee of $5 for every horse they race in Ontario. That would add another $1,142,000 to the total.

Once implemented, you have $20 for every horse thats raced in Ontario at all tracks, each and every race. That puts approximately $2.3 million dollars into the promotion and betterment of Ontario Racing. The best part is everybody who participates in this industry in Ontario will have a part in building its future.

Stakes races have entry fees, fishing tournaments have entry fees, Nascar has entry fees, poker has entry fees, so why not harness racing?

Heres a few ideas what to do with the money. I am sure that many of you could add to this.

Make it mandatory for all tracks in Ontario to upgrade all video feeds to High-Def - costs split between the track operators and the horsepeople

Have a nightly centralized panel with knowledgeable horse personalities and gamblers, who will offer a nightly insight for all tracks racing. Much like what the NFL does on a set, but have it broadcast via a live webcast, to begin with to cut costs. Broadcast fees and salaries could be paid by the monies generated from the starting fees. A corporate and or corporate sponsors could be brought onboard to help offset costs. Nightly advertisement spots could also be implemented to raise more capital.

Hire a Professional Ad Agency to promote Ontario Harness Racing, via TV and other venues. Launch a huge campaign, unlike any other that this industry has ever witnessed. The money will be there if the starting fees are implemented.

Launch an Ontario Racetrack only ADW and offer attractive rebates to try and attract the larger gamblers. Monies generated through an Ontario only ADW will benefit everyone involved in Ontario racing. Currently the only place that benefits from having an ADW in Ontario is WEG and thats wrong.

This idea would be one of many steps that this industry needs done. There are many other factors that need to be addressed, such as ownership of racetracks, facilities needed to be upgraded, etc ect.

To Mr.Towers, I never said that Jody was or wasn't supportive of the need for the race game to modernize itself. I simply asked him if he recognized the need for it. I also pointed out that if he did recognize the need for it then him and other leading horsemen or woman who realize the status quo is not working need to speak out for change, silence won't change anything. If Jodi was in support of the RDSP plan then good for Jodi.

How many people work at G M in Oshawa? Not as many as the horse industry I'll wager yet they got Billions from the governments to stay in business, not$400 million split 3 ways.

I have something that i would like to ask Jody Jamieson. First off i know with all that is taking place in ontario that you horse people have many concerns but do you not recognize the need for the industry to modernize there betting platforms, thru reduced takeout, fixed odds wagering and exchange wagering. If you do see the need for it then why don't leading horse people such as yourself speak up about it. It has to be obvious to anyone in this industry the old way of doing business is not attracting the next generation of gamblers. Who is going to be around in 20 years to wager on the races if this is not addressed. If the gambling base continues to disappear sooner or later the government will say this industry is no longer relevant and pull all support. That is just a matter of time before this happens if changes are not made on both sides of the border.

It is easy for the horse people to sit back and say that is not our concern it is the tracks concern but that would be a very foolish attitude. If you want this industry to be around for the next generation of horse people, your kids, the same way it was for both you and Carl, is it not time for all areas of the industry to start recognizing the obvious, young people are not supporting your product. The status quo is not only not working but failing miserably. The only time some of these issues were addressed was a few years ago when standardbred canada drew up the racing and development sustainability plan
and the industry as a whole rejected it. At what point does this industry and the people involved start to get it.

Hey Will...I do not think Mr. Winning is saying people in Ontario ARE gullible...he just said stop treating the people in Ontario LIKE they are gullible...so I think he is saying the gov't thinks we are are gullible but we really are not so the gov't needs to stop with all the lies and smoke screens. It sucks with what the Liberals have done and it does not seem fair but now it's done and now it's time to try and make a positive out of a negative somehow. For starters the horsemen (industry) should start working with the government and do a Canada wide or (Ontario, BC, Alberta and Down East) and get a Horse type lottery like the V75 in Sweden which brings in huge money. I know the OLG might not like this cause they would have to share in the profits and it might cut into their other gambling ventures but if they are happy with the profits NASCAR pro picks brings in on a Sunday (maybe a total pool of $6,000 so does that mean before taxes the pool might have been $10,000) for a company like the OLG why have a bet that brings in very little money? Because a little profit is better than NOTHING which is why they need to give a horse racing type lottery bet a chance, they would love the pools they would see for a V75 type horse lottery that could run every Saturday and maybe one day through the week if it takes off. And someone mentioned a 5% raise in takeout...I would be ok with that. People who love the sport and love to gamble are still gonna do so because its all about the love of the game and the rush and excitement. We all know its not a money making job for 99% of the people who bet the horses.

Mr. Yamakva, I would certainly hope that the horsemen and other representatives of the horse racing industry have many good ideas with regard to the integration of horse racing with the OLG’s new gaming strategy (as flawed as it is).

If Ms. Wynne would have immediately restructured the McGuinty transition panel to include representation from the industry (Mr Burgess ,for example, would have been an excellent choice .. as well as many others) then perhaps those ideas would now be front and center. It is clear, however, that the OLG has been specifically assigned with the mandate to accomplish this task .. and I fear the horsemen and the industry as a whole will have little input.

With regard to Leamington, this 5 year plan will give them little chance of survival. Rideau will likely survive, only because Ottawa’s Mayor and Council were smart enough to insist that any gaming expansion take place at the race track. I would expect that they will come up with a satisfactory financial agreement with whatever private company gets involved in the expansion (if there is one)

As usual Bob Burgess has got it right, to bad he's not a card carrying liberal, they might have listened to him!

Well said Mr Burgess.
How can you cancel a long term contract mid term and then change nothing except take away the rights from one of the participants. Is that legal ?
Strange, 20 months ago when the slots program was a true partnership, the Liberals began calling it a subsidy. Now that it is a subsidy, the Liberals are calling it a partnership.

It's amazing to see how the comment section has become the sounding board for one person who's mission is to save the industry. I just wish he had some skin in the game so he could feel our pain.

$400 million over 5 years split amongst the 3 breeds and tracks is not going to work for the standardbred industry.

The only way to survive is to create new racing customers through OLG customers/outlets and raise the takeout by 5%. That would give us $20 million in extra money per year, just for us, the standardbred horsemen. If OLG can create new customers and wagering venues in the province for our product, that number could be come $30-$40 million extra per year just for us.

That increase along with our share of the $400 million should put us in a decent position to survive this mess.

As always Mr. Burgess writes eloquently about our ongoing problems, as we the standardbred horse people of Ontario seem to always end up as the sacrificial lambs in this tragedy! As a small operator I have contributed towards the livelihoods of a lot of hard working people over 40+ years. Was it money well spent? I hope so, and absolutely know so! Having a job is paramount to some kind of pride and satisfaction in this new uncaring economy and our breeders, trainers, grooms and other associated businesses deserve better. My heart goes out to those caught in the cross hairs and end up unemployed through no fault of their own. Our breeders have paid a terrible price! and keep paying without any thought of clearing the hurdles and returning to the best standardbred breeding program in North America. I also noticed in the Kentucky sale most American breds sold for good money while any Ontario breds were significantly under valued. Some of the U. S. breeders declared their Ont. breds RNA (reserve not attained) Instead of being ignored Mr. Burgess should be listened to When he supplies not only facts but suggestions how to fix our problems, and yes his comments are factual, timely and FREE. Will some official pay attention? Probably not! Thanks again Robert.

MY question is: why did we stop Rallying? Seems, the public sector is unaware, that this it NOT a good deal. We seem to have more time, to rally more than ever. Not many of us are racing right? thanks leo samarillo

i guess now it's time to pretend like it's a really good plan when we all know deep down it's not even close to what we were hoping for and will not get us even half way to where we were, but whatever, i guess if you can't beat them join them, seems to be the way it's heading now, still so many question marks???????????

I believe it is very important to note that the Ontario racetracks that raced in 2013, have already received over $100,000,000 for rental and racedate reimbursement!! To suggest that any of this new subsidy,$400,000,000 over 5 years, would be paid to the racetracks is tragic, in that, the horsepeople of Ontario, can barely survive on current levels and any split of this new money that wouldn't favour the horsepeople, would further cripple this industry!!

I would like to think that the liberal government of Ontario are some day going to stop treating the citizens of Ontario like they are really gullible. The farmer I am stabled with and his daughter said it best, "does she really think that this is a good solution"?? The liberals have not a hope on getting elected in the upcoming election. The longer they wait the more informed people will be on the scandals perpetrated by the liberal incompetetance. Even the media that usually take the liberals side are starting to reveal the real truth. Just thinking out loud. Bruce T. Winning

"Wynne, who is also the province’s Minister of Agriculture and Food, stressed how a true partnership with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is critical for the industry to thrive."

"As she has stressed before, Wynne stated that a true partnership between the OLG and the Ontario horse racing industry is pivotal."

That has been the mantra for several months but we have yet to see one concrete proposal as to how that plan will be accomplished.

Putting your faith in the OLG is a "gamble" to say the least.
As an indication of how they operate, the OLG has yet to publicly disclose their 2012 (year ended March 31, 2012) annual report .. you would think that a year and a half (and counting) would be enough.

The Ontario Auditor General's report (reviewing the decision to cancel SARP and the OLG's new gaming strategy) is expected before the end of 2013 ... it will be interesting to read their comments.

Thank you Liberal government for nothing. 90% of the money is in Toronto or west of TO
Did the Liberals forget there are tracks, horses and people to the east?

WHAT DO THE BREEDERS THINK?

Two years ago I bought breeding shares in All American Native, Lis Mara, Major in Art and Tell all.

Lis Mara and Tell All both moved down under last year and Major in Art moved down under this year. Today I got an email that All American Native will be standing in Ohio.

I think it speaks volumes. I am willing to bet that we hear several more are moving before the end of the year. We still have some excellent sires in this province but the market adjustment is taking place.

Georg Leber-ICR Racing

You said it best, George.
Owners who still love the game will send more money South. Bettors who still enjoy horse racing will do the same. I will start betting more on Yonkers and Pocono, especially with only 3 days of racing a week at Weg. If I choose to own horses again, I don't see it being in Canada.

I can't help but wonder what might have happened if the Ontario tracks had shown some backbone, and closed down their slot facilities on March 31. Instead, the industry will now fight for the crumbs left behind by OUR elected officials.

I was under the impression there was going to be some stimulus for OSS yearling sales, that is why the Forest City Sale was moved to Nov. I thought maybe there would be a tax credit or maybe a grant for buying the Ont babies.
What do the breeders think of this proposal?

Some good news for horse racing. John [email protected] Monday , October 14,2013.... Sounds like a broken record. Much like the announcement way back in MARCH 2012 at the press conference led by Godfrey With McGuinty and Duncan in the background.. The olg GODFREY stated : WE WILL MODERNISE GAMING IN ONTARIO ...Well where are they now? They don't lie do they? They expanded Woodbine and Mohawk slots and added casino style card games , put on more bus trips from the seniors homes to the slots.spent millions in advertising , laid off employees and closed the backstretch to grooms and trainers and owners at Mohawk...If this is modernizing standardbred racing in Ontario and a good day for Ontario racehorses as you say Mr.snobelen , then you must have been speaking about the other end of the horses rather than what we feed them up front....

So very true Georg----all of your comments. The uncaring public will certainly start to see things differently when their local and provincial economies reflect the lack of spending that the horse industry once generated and the number of jobless are relying on government handouts to survive.

The panel have offered enough that the industry will have no choice but to accept.
What no one can know is whether integration with the Olg will prove beneficial. If it is a meaningful relationship what survives of the industry will have a solid financial foundation.
Unfortunately without a tax structure that allows the breeding industry to regenerate to the point that it can supply the numbers and quality of horses needed to remain competitive in the global wagering market none of it will matter. Kathleen Wynne has put her best offer on the table Now it is up to Jim Flaherty to decide how much of the breeding industry will remain in three years. Racehorse owners can now decide whether to reinvest,leave,or quit. The breeding sector is a much more difficult problem.

How does the song go blinded by the light? I guess if you are one of the lucky nine you might be jumping for joy, at least for a few more years. I guess they forgot there use to be racing west of London probably just an oversight on their part. I wonder how the Leamington group is feeling right about now? Hope you people in the far west enjoyed your four Sundays of live racing. Unless you plan on driving 2 hours away that will probably be the last time we see live racing in our area. I'm surprised Mr. Hatfield has not responded as of yet. For you Windsor people like myself we still have the glorious Club Alouette to spend our money betting on other track's products. That is of course if you can get your bet in over the loud band playing right next to the betting terminals. Windsor Raceway even in it's pathetic condition still handled more money then just about every track mentioned as the big nine. Lastly, I applaud the Mayor and the people of leamington involved in trying to bring live racing back to us, you have my heart felt thanks and I enjoyed every minute of it. I know I will be one of many who has spent his last penny on horse racing. I wish the big nine lots of luch cause you will need it.

The people who comment on this website (including me) are spitting into the wind. Nobody reads this except us and nobody cares except us. The average person reads that we are getting $400 million and is outraged that we are another scandal. Standardbred people are a minority of less than 1/3 of 1% of the population and we get $400 million. Forget that we used to get more from SARP. The people don't see it that way.

The industry will get smaller for sure. Those that have the best of the best will be slightly affected but will still make a good living racing and working at WEG. WEG might even get a Casino for their loyalty to the LIBS. OLG will carry on as if nothing happenned.

Those who can are splitting their operations between WEG and the USA. They won't protest, they will get on with the business of racing and investing more in the USA. Small guys like me have maybe a couple we can send down there and sell the rest at a loss. Breeders will move the best sires and broodmares to the USA. Did you see the prices at Lexington?

There will be bankruptcies and lots of job losses. The economy will take a $1 billion hit but the Liberals will explain it away with help from the NDP. Maybe the PC's will get voted in next election and inherit a real mess that they won't be able to do anything about and the Liberals will sing and dance and mock them.

Unfortunately in the crossfire are the hardworking people of the business. Grooms, trainers etc are going to have life altering changes. Investors lose some money but we wouldnt be in it if we couldnt afford it.

In short we can complain all we want. Nothing is going to change because the USA is still open for business and the smart money is going there.

I enjoy the comments on the board and read them every day.

Georg Leber-ICR Racing

Why can't Wynne's group make the amount 500 million and give the major tracks listed in their proposal the 400 million and give the 100 million left over to the smaller tracks like Sudbury,Leamington,Woodstock, Hiawatha and Dresden? How does Hanover get picked to survive over these tracks and Rideau Carleton,did they use darts on a dartboard to come up with the tracks? The Windsor Chatham-Kent area is already a depressed state and now they want to take more jobs away, these small tracks were the backbone of the racing industry where everything grew from the fairground racing. Nothing is better then to take the whole family on a nice sunny day to a local small town track or a local fair and watch the horses race,it was a cheap form of entertainment and a nice social enviornment.I think we need to have a loophole installed in this plan so that when the present government is ousted we can revisit this ridiculous proposal with the new one.

If I was the Premier my speech would have been 12 words........."We are going to return to the SARS program with negotiated adjustments".And guess what? The whole province would be happy except some 'hasbeen' politicians who are no longer there.

Let me figure this out 80 million a year.Prior to the cancellation of SARP the industry was receiving 345 million.this from the very succesfull program for all parties,including the gov.of Ont.Great plan guys.It's time for an election.

Dave, Wynne was vague when it came to Fort Erie and did mention Dresden Hiawatha and Woodstock to a degree, but it is clearly written in the plan....They would be considered for a festival racing circuit. Although racing at Woodstock, Sudbury and Dresden should have ceased years ago

Reviewing these comments, and one just jumps off that page that I have to ask...WHAT RACETRACK DO YOU HAVE IN THUNDER BAY????????????????????

The truth of the matter is there is no real plan going forward. The thing that was missing from this panel was gaming experts who understands today's competitive market place. Cutting down the amount of race dates and race tracks will give the remaining tracks in all probability a little boost in handle but nothing that is going to bail the industry out. They needed gaming experts who understand the need to re-build the gambling base thru reduced takeout,
gaming experts who understand to attract the next generation of gamblers, the need for new wagering platforms such as exchange wagering and fixed odds wagering. Instead all that has happened is less tracks, less race dates, less funding combined with the same old broken business model. The panel that came up with this plan has no clue about gaming and sadly neither does the over whelming majority of race tracks and their management teams. With the cut in funding, combined with the same outdated broken business model, it does not bode well for this industry going forward. It is time for industry leaders and the race game as a whole to wake up.

ONTAP! Its hard to swallow this crap! Ontario Taxpayers Appeasement Plan; this is what I call the Liberal's and the OLG's Plan. After hearing the fumbling statements by the Premier condemning the SARP agreement as not accountable nor transparent, She should look at Her own house! Is it any wonder that Rod Seiling quit! All we have now is more bureaucracy another hill to climb to get back to what was a "World Class" Industry.

Regardless of the political "spin" on this it actually remains a poor deal for Ontario racing.

So why all the hype ??

What happened to Sudbury

i guess there is to be no horse racing east of the 400 hwy--thanks to wynne and jeff leal- the m.p.p.-who is supposed to be the assistant minister of agriculture for our area--peterboro and surrounding regions--lots of smoke and mirrors --right jeff--and i will do everyhting in my power to see you are not elected in the next election--but the horse is out of the barn--no use closing it--still the slots go everyday at kawartha downs--who got punished skip or the horsepeople--care to wager a guess ?????

I wish she had included Dresden.Hiawatha and Woodstock as now its a 2 hour drive to go and race and that's if you can get in once a month.

Yay we're saved, we will be racing for about half of todays purses!!! This panel actually believes this. They actually think the industry will grow,they are right, it will grow smaller until it disappears in 5 years when they have their new casinos built.The first step in growth and sustainability is to get the slots out of our facilities and get our customers back. Go into any track and you are hustled into the slots before you can find the racetracks.Just another photo-op to pat themselves on the back.

You're going to trust your industry to the same people that did the gas plant mess? Of course if the proposed 400 mill. suddenly turns to 1.2 bill I'm sure no one will say anything. What's going to happen to Hiawatha and Dresden??
Is the owner of Hiawatha going to get back some of the money he put into improving his track only to find his race dates cancelled then returned at about 1/2 of expected?. Will he still have an off track parlor or will I have to go to London to wager on the Breeders' races or The Kentucky Derby? Also why is it so difficult to enroll in Horseplayer Interactive,they require so much personal information I just give up. It would be nice to throw a few bucks on The Queen's Plate or Derby without having to leave home. Good luck with your restructuring. I still like Dresden on sunny Sunday afternoons by the outside bar close enough to smell horses. My racing memories.

Wonderful isn't it. We still don't know how many days at which tracks, purse levels, etc. but at least another friend of the gov't (Elmer Buchanan) lands himself a nice cushy (and probably very profitable) job. Surprised???

I am sure the question on many peoples minds here is what becomes of Hiawatha, Rideau Carleton, Kawartha, Sudbury and Dresden? They made a point of adressing Fort Erie but somehow forgot to mention the 5 standardbred tracks.

Again it is blatantly obvious this Ont. Govt doesn't want horse racing.

Obviously interferes with ripping off the public from slots etc !!

Eight tracks all located in a small part of Southern Ontario !!

Obviously Ottawa and Thunder Bay etc don't count.

Not a Wynner IMO !

Can someone tell us how this $400m over 5 years compares to the amount the standardbred industry received over the last 5 years?