At the recent National Farmers Union Region 3 (Ontario) Convention, NFU members passed a resolution in support of the revenue sharing agreement between the horse racing industry and the Province of Ontario

, through OLG. The NFU has sent a letter to the Honourable Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance, asking him to continue the revenue sharing agreement with the horse racing industry because of the economic benefits it provides to farmers and to rural communities.

The NFU is concerned about the ripple effect a downturn in the horse racing industry will have on farmers and rural communities. According to Ann Slater, Ontario NFU Coordinator, "The loss of the horse racing industry could lead to the loss of important businesses and services in rural communities like feed mills and farriers, along with the loss of income to farmers who sell hay, grain and straw to the horse industry." Slater also noted that the horse racing industry is an important source of income for rural communities which host race tracks and benefit from the tourism and entertainment dollars spent in rural businesses.

Brian Griffith, an NFU member and farmer who sells hay to racetracks, says, "The Ontario Government should be looking for ways to increase the sustainability of horse racing with its economic, cultural and historic contributions to the fabric of Ontario rather than sounding its death knell which is surely what the removal of revenue sharing will do."

The contents of the NFU letter appear below.

Dear Minister Duncan:

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is an accredited general farm organization in Ontario. Our members are family farms from across Ontario, who grow and raise a variety of crops and livestock, including hay and horses.

The National Farmers Union is asking your ministry to continue to support the horse racing industry in Ontario through the revenue sharing agreement. The present revenue sharing agreement provides economic benefits to farmers directly involved in the horse racing industry, to farmers and rural communities through spin-offs, to municipalities (mostly rural) who host race tracks, and to the Province of Ontario.

The decision to move slots out of racetracks and into other privately owned facilities will have a significant economic impact across rural Ontario. Without support, it is likely racetracks will close, leading to a loss of income to those directly involved in horse racing, including registered farms. However, as a farm organization, the NFU is also concerned about the economic ripple effects the loss of horse racing will have:

• on the farmers who supply hay, grain and straw to the 65,000 horses involved in the horse racing industry. These are crops that are particularly suitable, due to their growth habits, for protecting our soil and contributing to biodiversity;
• on rural tradesmen, like farriers, many of whom are farmers earning extra income to support their farm;
• on rural infrastructure which is also used by a variety of other farmers, like feed mills;
• on farmers who either use horses for transportation or board pleasure horses, which have retired from or did not make the grade as race horses;
• on municipalities which host race tracks and use their portion of the revenue sharing agreement to the benefit of their communities;
• on rural businesses, like restaurants, who benefit from the the tourism and entertainment dollars associated with the racetracks in their communities.

Horse racing in Ontario has a long history and makes a significant contribution to the fabric of rural Ontario. The National Farmers Union urges the Ministry of Finance to continue a revenue sharing agreement with the horse racing industry, to protect jobs, economic opportunities and infrastructure in rural Ontario.

Yours sincerely,
Ann Slater

For Trot Insider's complete coverage regarding the fallout and uproar in response to the OLG and Ontario Liberals' treatment of the provincial horse-racing industry, click here.