Wallace, Sikura Discuss Ontario Industry

This past weekend, Standardbred horseman Ben Wallace and Thoroughbred breeder Glenn Sikura discussed the changes in the Ontario horse racing industry during a radio show which was broadcast to multiple markets in the province.

The pair was a guest on ‘Weekend Mornings with The Motts,’ which aired on Newstalk 1010 in Toronto, Newstalk 610 in St.Catherines and 1290CJBK in London.

The horsemen discussed the effect that the cancellation of the Slots at Racetrack program has had on the provincial racing industry. The topic of the lawsuit from a group of Ontario breeders against the Ontario Government and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. was also broached.

“I can understand that Kathleen (Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne) is trying to put a band-aid back on this (the Ontario horse racing industry) – and I’m sure that the public would think that everything is fine and dandy in the horse world – but there is such a huge trickle effect to getting a horse prepped, ready, raised, trained and raced, that the people that are touched are far (more) outreaching than just the horsepeople involved here.”

Wallace took the opportunity to convey that the negative economic ripple effect from the SARP cancellation has been substantial.

“There are a lot of people in this province that derive their income from horse racing, and the money that goes into the treasury of this province is significant, and it’s been decimated,” said Wallace. “Those horse numbers and job losses can probably hold up to scrutiny. It’s very difficult to put an exact number on them because we simply don’t have the exact number, but it is easy to figure.”

Sikura, who is the president of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, took the opportunity to praise the steps that the Ontario racing industry has taken in an attempt to educate the government of the economic importance of the provincial racing industry.

“I think the Ontario horsepeople did a wonderful job with trying to explain the industry and the benefits of the industry and trying to cobble together an acceptable deal with the government that would sustain us going forward,” Sikura said.

The audio from the interview can be accessed below.