Our industry after two years
Sometimes it seems like our future is becoming a lopsided fight. Everytime it's seems like we might be able to climb out of this hole we were left in, we get more dirt thrown on us.
After the loss of the slots program, our industry went through its "right-sizing" and many of our friends left the only industry they ever knew. This was hard to watch and for most of us, it represented the toughest time of our lives.
Horses were shipped out, to the Amish or worse, and we all got a taste of how politicians can take a set of numbers and spin them to look or say what they want.
Then Kathleen Wynne became Premier and at times it seemed as though she herself was sorry for what her predecessor had done. She vowed to create a self-sufficient horse racing industry and pledged hundreds of millions of tax payers dollars to do it. A panel was formed and many believed that again this could be the light at the end of the tunnel.
For two years we have waited, watching press release after press release about how our premier instructed the OLG to integrate horse racing into its gaming model. It sounded helpful, but the problem was that no one knew what integration meant?
It appears we still don't.
A letter appeared on standardbred Canada last week from John Snoblen, dated June 1, 2015. It was sent to Ministers Leal and Sousa, thanking them for the appointment of an interim governance committee that would be continuing to work on integration with the OLG and look at expanded wagering and self governance within the industry.
Shell games and smoke and mirrors are deteriorating our industry's confidence that a future awaits. People who love the game aren't replacing horses they sell or lose. Can you blame them?
We visit the standardbred Canada website not a week after Mr. Snobelen's letter and you see a new letter, this one from OLG representative Tony Bitonti saying that the "rebranding" of the OLG to include horse racing was squashed because it would cost too much to do?
Here's a question...How much does it cost this industry and potential gaming revenue overall to not rebrand?
If you allocated $6 million for rebranding and we come in over-budget, which rarely happens in government (that was sarcasm by the way), is there no way to make up the difference? Do we as horse racing not have money set aside for marketing?
Imagine if every OLG commercial both on radio and TV mentioned horse racing? How could our money be spent better?!
From where I sit, we still don't know what integration means and our new partners just pulled us from future ads...I hate being pessimistic but are there any alarms being sounded?
I purposely didn't look for the answer to this question because I'd rather write this as a regular participant with only standardbredcanada.ca to get my news from.
We can't grow our industry without revenue.
We can't grow our revenue without investors and gamblers.
We attract gamblers without a product they can bet, and we can't keep -- let alone attract -- investors without some form of confidence this industry will survive and grow.
I will be one of the first Conservatives to say I don't blame Kathleen Wynne. We need our former Minister of Agriculture to be there for rural Ontario. I am well aware of how full our Premier's plate is. I'm hoping our leadership in this industry will step up and lobby our Premier to once again slap the hand of the OLG and remind them whose sandbox we are all playing in.
I would email or call the leadership of our industry, but I'm not sure who they are?
If this is OHRIA's department, I would hope to see a press release in the very near future explaining our course of action on this matter.
The views presented in Trot Blogs are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Standardbred Canada.
Will - if I'm not making
Will - if I'm not making money in the stock market, I might try another option like investing in bonds. Perhaps you should stop wasting your time and money on us and try another option. The public doesn't care what Trevor looks like. Our drivers are not celebrities and never will be. Racing less doesn't create more event racing. Read Marty's comments. Fans don't want to go to concrete jungles. Take the time to get educated and read the reports.
Not to beat a dead horse, but
Not to beat a dead horse, but I must make some points that may have been missed.
1. With all due respect to Anthony, John, Kirk, Ted Will et al, your interest in this sport deserves an "A". Unfortunately we need to find a forum that listens. We need to get input from people who mean something - we are merely blips on the radar.
2. The key to success in 2 words is "CREATURE COMFORTS"!
The casinos give out free soft drinks - we take out water fountains
The casinos have $100/yd carpeting to walk on - we have painted-over cement
The casinos offer food specials at every price point - we up-charge everything from burgers to beer, and the washrooms - you can eat off the floor at Caesars Windsor, but at most tracks and simulcast outlets, the outdoor bushes provide better relief.
In other words, it is a pleasure to walk into a casino, it's an ordeal to walk in to a racetrack.
3. The report I referred to is the 1999 report by professor Zalinski - her follow up report 2 years later, was even more revealing - she said, no one listened! And that was the problem with both the Sadinsky report of 2008 and the Drummond report of 2011 - nobody listened.
Dwight Duncan refused to admit that Sadinskys number of 55,000 jobs would be affected sans SARP. Duncan also failed to listen to Drummond who recommended "...a review..."
4. The Ag minister McMeekin I referred to refused to answer my question on camera when I asked if, after hiring Snobelen, Wilkinson, & Buchanan, "..will you listen to their report?" Since you didn't listen to the previous 2 (reports) So now, after having been billed over $1 million dollars by "the panel", we now are thrown at the feet of the OLG who provide nothing but empty promises, and false hope.
5. The American dollar now gives US gamblers $1.23 to play in Ontario. They are winners before the play, but, we are losers if we don't take advantage.
6. And finally, (and I know I've sung this song before), WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS?
In reply to Not to beat a dead horse, but by Marty Adler
Mr Adler I am a big fan of
Mr Adler I am a big fan of yours from my Windsor raceway days and know we share the same passion for the sport. As for people who matter we have had support from NDP leader Andrea Horvath, PC leader at the time Tim Hudak and many MPP's from both parties BEFORE the liberals won a majority and still they marched forward with their plans. Now with a majority in Queens Park it's highly unlikely they will listen to anyone now and will do as they please with all their made up committees to rubber stamp everything. I voted you for mayor and would again to have you become part of our leadership team!
I have taken employees and
I have taken employees and their families to both harness racing and the various sports books in Vegas. Not a single one of them prefer harness racing to The various single wager and watch options on NFL, NBA, baseball at the sports books. Their reasons vary from the huge saving in wagering costs from those with a gambling bent to the excitement (in every play from the audience) at the sport books events. Several made an interesting point that live or off track horse racing is like being at a mausoleum and that they have witnessed people being barred from racing for are you ready for it (cheering loudly).!!
Mr.Jones you just set racing
Mr.Jones you just set racing back a hundred years. I guess you want to go back to the days where you didn't even need a program because they weren't yet printed. Lets make it easy for the novices. Lets just throw darts at a dart board to decide the winner of a race ;)
Will - we blame the
Will - we blame the government and the race track operators. You say we are wrong. You blame the horsemen. I say you are wrong. You're not hearing us. In your opinion, we are not doing enough or listening to you.
In reply to Will - we blame the by [email protected]
Mr Rose I think many tax
Mr Rose
I think many tax payers blame the government for one thing or another. You obviously blame them for ending the slot revenue. The government shut down the program earlier than scheduled but make no mistake everyone knew it was not there forever. My question to you is what was your plan for sustainability when the program ran its course? Why can't it be implemented now?
In reply to Mr Rose I think many tax by truckinted
Sustainability involves
Sustainability involves cooperation with the race track operators. If you can look through all the smoke and mirrors, you will see that most operators would rather be rent collectors for slot parlours than make an effort to run race tracks properly (as a business). To them, we are an inconvenience that they have to put up with.
In reply to Will - we blame the by [email protected]
Mr Rose..... who's fault is
Mr Rose.....
who's fault is it that 0.0004% of Ontarians can identify Trevor Henry by his face? Who's fault is it that the biggest stars of the game are retired after a 3 year old season and fans only getting a single season to cheer? Who's fault is it that its almost impossible to find out a single thing about your horses other than the program or this site? Who's fault is it that our favorite horses often race at 3-4 tracks a month? Who's fault is it that I never hear a single word from the trainer about my horse that I bet's week or training on the farm?
I guess you are right..... the track is to blame. The government is to blame.
Funny that you rarely hear a horseman say "we should race less to make it more of an event",
The runners figured it out. Less racing days makes for bigger fields on race days which makes it better for us the gambler which in turn makes the horse owners more money. Again Sheldon.......
and you might wanna listen..... we the gambler DON'T NEED YOU. We have options. You need us. You might wanna lose the attitude and pay attention.
In reply to Mr Rose..... who's fault is by Will Yamakva
Will you know that the tracks
Will you know that the tracks are not owned or operated by horsemen right. Everything you complain about falls into the track owners responsibilities yet you blame us. I have asked you many many times your view on track owners responsibilities, with no reply. I don't expect them to come train my horses that's my business, but I expect them to run their business to the best of their abilities and not just collect OLG rent. You might want to take your own advice and lose the attitude and pay attention, you are barking up the wrong tree!
Not sure what "integration"
Not sure what "integration" means to the OLG. Just checked their two twitter handles, @playolg and @olgtoday and neither of them even bothered to mention the NA Cup on the 20th.
Hey Mr. OLG: Your Direction
Hey Mr. OLG: Your Direction from the Premier "Integration" and so far nothing! With your expertise in the lotteries, how about considering putting those machines that are at the Race Tracks that produce the program info for the night's races in the convenience stores and only for the Ontario Tracks. Figure out a prize structure similar to the lottery tickets; as an example have the customer pick the correct order of finish of the first 5 or more in any single race. Than come up with a fair % for the OLG, GOV'T, stores and of course the Horse Racing Industry. This might be an avenue to generate interest in racing and give the much needed revenue for the racing industry to attract investors again! There is much more I would like to say... save it for a later time!
Mr Hill, Your comment "The
Mr Hill,
Your comment "The alliance tracks have done well, London and Grand River, because they are owned and operated by their local agricultural societies who know the value of racing to rural Ontario and not wannabee casino owners"..
If you don't think all tracks need some kind of return to operate you're sadly mistaken, luckily Western is a multifaceted business,...all of the Alliance tracks are in the same boat, they are not for profit model while everyone else outside of the big 8 keep their on track commissions and continue to get money from the government. A problem in itself as it's not going back to the industry in any shape or form. The industry will not generate anything close to what it needs to unless all but the 8 alliance tracks survive and the money is redirected to increased purses and marketing.
Do they operate because they know the value of racing to rural Ontario...Seriously? If they can't return money and cover the cost of operating, you're not in business very long.
We saw the power of mass advertising WEG did for NA cup...it paid off. We saw the cross promotions the Alliance tracks did, it paid off for ALL of them. Someone on Facebook said even Flamboro was up 45% on Confederation Cup and overall wagering up something like 15%, and with Western up on their meet..good start. Something is working, after years of declines.
All of the tracks (all non profit) have increased wagering due to the reach of the WEG and nothing else. WEG holds the betting license at all Alliance tracks, only they can do business in other jurisdictions for each track.
The tracks needs OLG, no matter what their circumstance. Like it or not...no OLG, no racing period.
Next Step is to get OLG to pull it in and get it out to the masses...there is more happening at our racetracks than just slots.
Mr Adler said... "The
Mr Adler said...
"The industry is a bunch that care more for their own than the overall sport"
Judging by the post above the one he made, it is clear that Mr Adler is correct.
Here are realities that horseman do not want to face.
1) There are too many tracks considering how much is wagered in this province on the product that put forth. Unless a few more close, this current model isn't sustainable.
2) Despite Mr MacDonald thinking that the product on the track is a key to the fix, it isn't even close to being the fix. You can keep exactly what you have, if you have other things that add to the experience.
3) This nonsense that the government is the fix/blame shows you really have no clue. This is an industry, just like bowling alleys, bars, golf courses and many others. All of which, are in competition with each other for the entertainment dollar. (gambling is nothing more than entertainment for the most part and not people's main source of income and until you realize this, you have no chance)
4) Grand River and London are doing well ONLY because they have figured out that you have to market to a younger generation of potential fans.
5) This whining about the OHRIA is getting tired. You now see Mr MacDonald speaking up about a real horseman's group. (Mr Hill, no one has EVER called you lazy or stupid, so comments like that are counter productive to progress. Putting words in people's mouths do not help anyone). You need people that are the face of the sport, speaking up for the sport as a group. One only needs to look at the teachers and the workers in London to realize that you can indeed fight or at least have a better working relationship with city hall or the majority government.
Its funny...... "outsiders" are why the NHLPA, the NFLPA, MLBPA and NBAPA all are making lots of money. A lot more than they were when all 4 sports were having down times.
Until people like Mr. Adler and Mr MacDonald leave those behind with the mentality that the government is the fix of the sport, this back and forth chat will continue until you see tracks close and you people losing everything or moving on.
You do not really need to go to these tracks in the US to get this fixed. Every positive they currently have, has been suggested here. Pay attention to the fans, the ones that actually speak up and care, and you can get this done. Enough of the whining about what others do, and unless you actually band together.......
Outsiders seem to have all
Outsiders seem to have all the solutions, as if we haven't already thought of them. Tired of them thinking we are lazy and stupid when they have no idea of what we are up against. Other jurisdictions have their governments work with them. You can't fight city hall and you surely can't fight queens park with a liberal majority. A good idea to send our leadership of racing in Ontario to Churchill Downs and Hoosier for ideas but highly unlikely the premier, her minister of of finance, minister of agriculture and head of OLG would go. Maybe we could grow with the OLG statagey if we knew what is. The alliance tracks have done well, London and Grand River, because they are owned and operated by their local agricultural societies who know the value of racing to rural Ontario and not wannabee casino owners. Every dollar wagered on racing is a dollar not spent on slots! OLG mandate under Paul Godfrey was to bury the competition (horse racing) and it appears little has changed.
Good news and bad. Those that
Good news and bad. Those that respond show a passion for the sport and speak up. That's good! The bad news is, you have no idea.
AM wants the former minister of agriculture back - McMeekin? Are you nuts? That sorry excuse of a politician, the one who brought us Larry, Moe, and Curly, is afraid of his own shadow. My personal interview attempt at his constituent picnic in Waterdown can attest to that!
When I hear the call for more marketing, I respond by saying, the best marketers in the world might get people to the track, but most would never come back; and, the reason why? No "creature comforts". (Read the Zalinski report of 1999)
The industry is a bunch that care more for their own than the overall sport.
We chased the fans away with either tracks that force us to watch races on a TV monitor, or tracks that are so unfair and challenging that they drive the fans away. THIS is what we are offering for harness racing?
Racing's market is THE GAMBLER. THE BETTOR. Get it? Horse people just put on the show, and even that needs experienced oversight.
And finally, who chose the betting parlour in Windsor? The name says it all - dirty, with washrooms that are worse than a sewage treatment plant, and regular patrons on the restaurant side, wishing the betting side would be condemned!
Is anybody listening?
It's time to
In reply to Good news and bad. Those that by Marty Adler
Marty, No one is denying your
Marty,
No one is denying your passion or drive.
Gamblers are the lifeline.
But without a good product to bet, it doesn't matter.
The issue I have is how little our industry is worrying about the OLG deciding to drop it's rebranding with horse racing.
To focus on one side of this industry is myopic and will continue to happen without a fuctional horsemens group.
The former agriculture minister is Kathleen Wynne although I suppose your correct also.
I was referring to Mrs wynne.
The report you are referring to is the Stanley Sadinsky report I believe.
Far too few read it, hence our situation.
Thanks for the response,
Anthony
In reply to Marty, No one is denying your by anthony macdonald
Anthony – Your industry model
Anthony – Your industry model is wrong! It should be gambler, revenue, product / investor in that order. Fingers are pointing in all directions here, it's simple, no leadership! When the NBA NHL NFL have a problem, fingers point in one direction. Over the years with no leadership, horse racing has sat back and watched new games take the gambler and it's revenue away.
Take back the lottery gamblers with 1% takeout of all money wagered in Canada. YTD $210,468,931 so offer a jackpot, it would be $2,104,689. Payout when it hits a million with a lottery style draw for all losing dollars wagered. If every gambler needs an account for this to work, so be it. The loser MUST be the biggest winner at this game. Think about it ... every time your horse breaks, gets parked, caught in, interfered with, loses by a nose, or gets placed back, it gives you a shot at a much much larger prize. Take away the reasons people walk away.
Take back the slot gamblers with 1% takeout from all pools so it accumulates and then RANDOMLY spike the betting pools after race starts. Woodbine should accumulate $250,000 in a month, spike a $5,000 show pool with that!!! This works on all levels how about Western Fair spiking $60,000 in a $1,200 show pool. MORE larger payouts are needed.
Change is needed, make changes for the encourage the novice fan and the seasoned to gambler to bet more and the money will trickle down and feed many!! Casino money seems to trickle up to feed a few. Horse racing has so much more to offer then rolling cherries and standing in line at the convenience store.
Marty's right, everyone cares about their own and not the overall sport. Wallace wants 100k top class, MacDonald wants more B track races, Burgess wants breeder incentive, McIntosh wants more gold/grass stakes etc etc etc ...
The race card must be designed for the casual fan. Someone who picks by numbers. The classification system needs tweaked. A two level system of n/w lifetime earnings (A track nw/50k, B track nw/25k, C track nw/5k) and n/w$ L5/10 starts, no pp draws except stake or paid events. e.g. 50 horses entered nw/50k lifetime, horse #1 has $1 life given pp 1 in 1st race and horse #50 has $49,999 life is given pp 10 in 5th race. When horse #50 tops 50k he then starts at bottom of nw/$ level. Really consider dropping claimers, always dominated by top trainers and drivers. Drop the grass root program, late and early closers. These colts will flow up through the ranks at A B or C tracks and make money appropriate to their speed or class. Blossom series legs this year was a joke, remember, cater to the number bettor!
Change some race distances for track size – 7/8 track 1 mile, 5/8 track 1 1/4 mile and 1/2 track 1 1/2 mile race. Drivers will adapt, the gate will float away at the longer distances. BIGGER fields. Drivers negotiate percentage – e.g. 2014 JK Shesalady needs new driver Tetrick 5% or Amac 2%, lets see a little more driver rivalry! Fewer holes, nothing worse the 10 horses in a line at the half. Amac “the milkman” driving Grand Circuit horses, you betcha !!
etc etc etc .... make some changes!!!
Stop looking for the government to bail you out, plug the holes and start paddling.
Anthony, Good post. Ted,
Anthony,
Good post.
Ted, Hooiser Park is integrated into the gaming strategy of the facility, hence why they can mass market, essentially what Anthony is trying to get across. I was at a presentation first hand and they said they lose millions on horse racing, but see it as part of the overall gaming strategy, exactly what needs to happen here.
The Alliance guys ALL have done some great things this year with some positive upticks in wagering, outside of them, there is still simply too much racing where handle doesn't even come close to have the facility standing on it's own. What they need is a larger reach, and they can't do it without more money or a platform to do it on.
Cut the smaller tracks out, increases purses at the Signature level and then and only then can you put a good product in front of the people. Grow it as part of the OLG strategy. This has to happen and the industry no matter how unpopular will need to accept it.
In reply to Anthony, Good post. Ted, by Lostintranslation
John I realize that Hoosier
John
I realize that Hoosier Park is integrated into the gaming system and slot money contributes to the success of harness racing. I do believe however that Churchill Downs is not a Racino and has made a go of it for 150 years without slot money. The place is massive and must cost a fortune just to maintain. I wonder how they do it? Promotion,promotion,promotion. Its all over the place. Drinks, food, food trucks, music, giveaways etc etc. They no how to run a racetrack and cater to the bettors. They want to provide racing unlike any of Ontario tracks that have slots. They would eliminate the racing part of the business in a second if they were guaranteed to keep the slots. How much support does one expect from companies that really don't want your product. I doubt if slot money is ever coming back to the horsemen so if they choose to not participate with the promotion of their sport....there doomed.
In reply to John I realize that Hoosier by truckinted
Ted your latest post is right
Ted your latest post is right on the money in my eyes. Other jurisdictions know how to run racetracks and cater to the bettors. As I have stated many times before this is the job of track owners not horsemen, of which few if any have marketing or promotional skills, but would gladly participate given the chance. And as you also stated track owners would eliminate racing in a second if they could keep the slots and I believe this is end goal for most of them now as they collect millions of $ in "rent" annually from OLG who are hedging their bets as it becomes clearer no one wants casinos in their cities. Will you have many good suggestions, 'no more OHRIA' is at the top of my list, all others should be directed to track owners who have the final say as to what happens at their facilities not horsemen, who would gladly participate as seen at London and Grand River. Non profit tracks do not have the same mindset as those run by their local agricultural societies who doubtfully have ANY six figure salaries to help attain non profit status thus more money for whatever is needed (promotion). Mass publicity is great as stated by Mr Saunders so let's do it, for every day racing also.
Just the fact prominent
Just the fact prominent horseman and activist Anthony has to write this blog shows horsemen have no say in anything currently happening. Brian Tropea of OHHA has stated previously he has no idea of OLG plans either. The only horsemen representation comes from OHRIA like it or not. It's a dictatorship as I do not recall voting for them or anyone to represent me.
So nice to see not one, but 3
So nice to see not one, but 3 comments that are not complaining, but looking at the realistic state of the industry. Mr Gangle, Mr Decker and Mr McCartney, all made great posts here and really, I would love it if people jumped aboard that bandwagon of being real, and not whining the government isn't helping you.
This whining that the "ohria was appointed to represent us" is total garbage. waiting for them to react is as bad as expecting Wynne to just open the vaults and bring things back to when the horseman were making huge bucks during SARP.
Mr MacDonald, like I called out Jody Jamieson for, I implore you to do the same. Actually get a group of the important faces. Become visible. This waiting for the government junk, is a waste of time. How can you not see this after 2 years? I know.... write more letters. Demand more answers.
While you are doing that, racing will progress in other jurisdictions and fall behind big time in Ontario.
Last Saturday's handles at KD
Last Saturday's handles at KD and Hiawatha were smaller than the purse distribution. Rideau is not much better. This does not bode well for the future.
Thanks for the info Anthony .
Thanks for the info Anthony . The shame of it all is I'm out of horse racing, and the people that are still in haven't responded. You do need support or opposition. Good luck
Very well stated and thought
Very well stated and thought out Anthony
You may want to think about sending your comments to the Peterborough Examiner asking for a reply from Mr. Leal. It's time Mr. Leal took some initative to aid the situation instead of sottling back waiting for his Wynne to tell him what to do.
Anthony, While I agree with
Anthony, While I agree with your comments, the question that I have to ask is..... what have we done to help ourselves and our industry? We haven't exactly gone over board to promote horse racing. As I look at other sports programs particularly in Ky. where we currently reside, no expense is spared for advertising and promotion (we still have an interest in Ontario as we have horses racing there) If we are going to attract new owners, new bettors, new patrons, new breeders, we have to spend some money, hire a professional advertising agency and launch a campaign to encourage more participation in our sport. If you want some examples, watch TVG and pay attention to the ads that they broadcast. There are several other questions that have to be asked. Where and who are our leadership? Why hasn't there been an advertising fund established to promote our sport? Why aren't we broadcasting over TVG or some other venue? It's time we got off our "perverbial asses" and do something about the decline. If we're going to rely on Gov't, experience has taught me that we're going to wait forever.
In reply to Anthony, While I agree with by Paul Gangle
Great post Paul. There have
Great post Paul. There have been a few that regularly comment(you know who you are) that say the industry membership has zero say in what happens. Its good to see someone from outside of Ontario sees it much the same way I do. Everyone got fat and happy when there was slot revenue and now its easier to blame the government rather than as you say "get off your asses" . I spent 2 days in both Kentucky and Indiana last month, went to the races 4 times and can attest that there are promotions all over the place. Advertisement as well. Perhaps the so called leadership of Ontario racing should send a group to Churchill Downs and Hoosier for some ideas.
ALARM BELLS are ringing and
ALARM BELLS are ringing and this liberal government will not answer the call for the racing industry as the revenue stream evaporates/the recent NDP win in alberta means the end of racino funding for racing, so what's left, the conservatives... where they are jumping ship federally like the gravy train is over!