On Wednesday, October 31, Hanover Raceway General Manager Gord Dougan issued an open letter to the Ontario horse-racing industry in regard to OMAFRA Panel's transition report which was recently submitted to provincial government.
Pointing out that there were both positive and negative elements to the panel's report, Dougan stated that Hanover Raceway was concerned that they were 'not consulted during Phase 2 of the panel's work.'
"We are committed to maintaining live racing at Hanover Raceway and will work within whatever framework is decided upon to provide the best racing experience for our fans and horsepeople," Dougan wrote.
To view the OMAFRA Panel's report, click here.
The contents of Hanover's open letter appears below.
Press Release.
Oct 31, 2012
OMAFRA Report
The report from the three-person panel looking into horse racing was released by the
Ministry of Agriculture yesterday. Hanover Raceway was pleased to make a presentation to the panel earlier this summer, and is now reviewing the panel’s final report.
GM Gord Dougan says there are a lot of questions to be answered, but upon first reading there are both positive points in the report and some concerns raised.
On a positive note, many tracks told the panel that horse racing needs another form of revenue in order to survive, and it is a viable part of the economy especially in rural Ontario. The panel recommends racetracks should share in the revenue generated from sports wagering and from racetrack like gaming machines. With the introduction of slots at racetracks, live pari-mutuel wagering has been cut in half, while expenses including regulatory fees and operational costs have skyrocketed. Racetracks are regulated both federally and provincially and our ability to generate new types of revenue is restricted.
We are also concerned that we were not consulted during Phase 2 of the panel’s work, which ultimately resulted in this final report. We will now review the report at the executive level and await the Ministers’ feedback. We are committed to maintaining live racing at Hanover Raceway and will work within whatever framework is decided upon to provide the best racing experience for our fans and horsepeople.
Gord Dougan
GM
Hanover Raceway