Following a public consultation process, the Director has issued a Notice of Decision to Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium (FELRC) approving their application to vary the approved 2012 thoroughbred schedule at Fort Erie Race Track.

The FELRC application sought permission to cancel Saturday, October 27, 2012.

Having reviewed the submissions received, having reviewed the position of the horsepeople who race at Fort Erie as represented by the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), having consulted with the industry at large, having received the recommendation from the Implementation and Monitoring Group, and having determined that the application is consistent with the principles of the Ontario Race Date Framework, the Director approved the application to vary the schedule.

The following impacted on the Director’s decision:

• The request for a variance is primarily due to the decline in horse population, and as a result the ability of racetrack management to conduct full cards of racing over the last four days of the meet.

• The average field size has decreased from 8.22 horses in 2011 to 7.55 in 2012.

• The current horse population is 541 horses, down from 745 in 2011 at this time last year.

• Removing Saturday, October 27 from the last weekend of the meet will reduce racing opportunities overall, but should encourage larger or maintained field sizes on the remaining days for that weekend, creating a more competitive racing and wagering product.

• To stay competitive in this wagering market, it is imperative that Fort Erie has full and competitive fields of horses.

• Prior to submitting the application for variance, FELRC consulted with the HBPA. The HBPA has provided its support for the requested race date variance.

Please be advised that any party aggrieved of this decision has the right of appeal to the Ontario Racing Commission.

(ORC)