The Ontario Racing Commission’s consultation with the industry on re-thinking the allocation of race dates is continuing. In the past few weeks, ORC exec

utive director John Blakney has met individually with representatives of the various sectors of the racing community to begin discussions and provide background to this task.

At the invitation of the ORC administration, representatives of racetracks, horse people associations and breeders met yesterday to continue the discussion of what is required to move forward. The meeting represented the completion of the preliminary consultation stage of this journey.

“This is a time for innovative thinking and thinking creatively, this is not about the status quo,” said Blakney. “Most importantly, this is about working collaboratively. We have a ways to go and we need to build on the manner in which our respective groups work together.”

He pointed out that the ORC Board has directed the executive director to work with the industry on the development of a new approach to determining race dates which can better serve the interests of Ontario horse racing and the public. “I remain committed to make this analysis and discussion in a transparent, open and inclusive way.

“As I noted in the open letter to the racing community last month, I invite members to be a part of this exercise. Your ideas on identifying a new model for race date allocation are welcome. And you can do this either through your association or directly through the ORC website.”

(ORC)