On Wednesday, January 23, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. issued a press release which stated that it has reached lease agreements in principle for its slots operations at a total of 10 provincial racetracks.
"We are pleased to announce that we have reached lease agreements in principle with 10 gaming sites," OLG President and CEO Rod Phillips was quoted as saying in the release. "We have longstanding and positive relationships with our siteholders and look forward to working with them in the future."
The 10 racetracks that the OLG has reached agreements with in principle are Clinton Raceway, Dresden Raceway, Hanover Raceway, Kawartha Downs, Mohawk Racetrack, Rideau Carleton Raceway, Sudbury Downs, the Western Fair District, Woodstock Raceway and Woodbine Racetrack.
To view an official copy of the OLG release, click here.
The contents of the OLG release appear below in their entirety.
OLG Reaches Agreements In Principle For Leases At Eight Ontario Gaming Sites
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is pleased to announce that it has reached lease agreements in principle for its slots operations with eight of its site holders. This includes:
- Woodbine Racetrack;
- Mohawk Racetrack;
- Rideau Carleton Raceway;
- Hanover Raceway;
- Woodstock Raceway;
- Dresden Raceway;
- Sudbury Downs; and
- Clinton Raceway.
OLG has provided the siteholders with a Letter of Intent, which sets out the general intentions and business arrangements, subject to approvals, between the site and OLG. On December 21, 2012, OLG announced agreements in principle with Western Fair District Raceway and Kawartha Downs Racetrack.
"We are pleased to announce that we have reached lease agreements in principle with 10 gaming sites," said Rod Phillips, President and CEO of OLG, "We have longstanding and positive relationships with our siteholders and look forward to working with them in the future."
OLG hopes to finalize agreements with site holders by February 28, 2013.
OLG continues to engage in lease agreement discussions with its other site holders across the province and remains hopeful that a positive outcome to those discussions is near for all facilities.
I agree, what about Grand
I agree, what about Grand River? The management of the track there (to a large degree Kelly Spencer) have done a great job in the past of making horse racing more "popular" with the general public and getting more people to come out on the track. They've come up with lots of possibilities for the public to be involved, they really worked hard at helping the industry. And now what??! It's a great track and it has always been a great experience going there. I hope they'll be able to offer live racing in the years to come....
I hope they are holding out
I hope they are holding out for the 43% that the bingo halls are getting! And you notice the release suddenly trumpets the billions that the province raked in from the slots over the years, with no mention of "subsidy!" Yes, Paula. What about Grand River? They are my favourite place to watch races.
Yes all 10 racetracks have
Yes all 10 racetracks have sold out all the horsepeople in Ontario, they have an agreement, to make money from the slots, nothing goes towards the horse racing, and probably have no intention of having live racing, at the b tracks anyway, why would they go to all the trouble and expense of trying to have racing with the only income the bet handle, no track could break even, so how many will try.
What About GrandRiver
What About GrandRiver Raceway???????????