Dresden Agricultural Society President Lucille Laprise has been quoted as saying that Dresden Raceway will continue on, even if the slot machines which are currently located at the track end up being relocated to Chatham in a few years' time.
In an article by Chatham This Week, Laprise conveyed that racing at the track will continue with or without slot-machine gaming.
“The raceway will still continue. It was just an added feature to have the slots next door to us, so they complemented one another. The races are forging ahead strong, so we’ll be fine.”
Two weeks ago, a spokesman for Gateway Casinos went on the record as saying that slot machines will remain at Dresden Raceway until at least 2020. The statement came amid comments from municipal officials which indicated that Gateway is planning to eventually relocate its Dresden gaming operations to Chatham.
Laprise has echoed the same sentiment.
She told Chatham This Week that a representative from Gateway contacted her directly in regard to the potential move. “They just wanted to give us a head’s up to what their plans were," Laprise was quoted as saying.
News of the potential relocation comes as Gateway is in discussions with the Western Fair District about the future of gaming and potential expansion at the London, Ont. fairgrounds.
(With files from Chatham This Week)
Ms Walker, this is not the
Ms Walker, this is not the start but almost the end. As soon as all tracks have their casinos removed OLG will wash its hands of the racing business altogether and get rid of the competition.
The government made a
The government made a mistake? How about standardbred racing's mistakes? So what happened after slots came? Everyone got nice and cozy and felt that this supply of money would never end. The game never evolved. It is the same game now, that it was back in the 80s. Horsemen refused to give a portion of winnings to invest back in the advertising of the game, and left it to the track owners. Now... you have zero advertising, fairly empty stands most nights, and purses that exceed the handle at many Ontario tracks. When the tracks and the horsemen should have sat down and worked together to be partners, neither did. Horseman blame the track owners, and the track owners look back at the horseman like, "what did you all do to help us?"
In any "partnership", both sides are supposed to put in equal amounts.
Rather than look to blame the owners and the government, when will horsemen say, "forget the government, why are we racing to empty stands monday-friday?"
To clarify something, when I say "horsemen", I am not referring to just the drivers/trainers/owners. I am talking about the judges, the dude driving the starting gate, the grooms, the vets, and anyone else that has a lifestyle derived from racing. Until you all get unified, and have a single voice that EVERYONE listens to, horse racing will continue to flounder.
The most intelligent post I
The most intelligent post I have read in years!
This is just the start. The
This is just the start. The Government has made a mistake by not ensuring that the slots were kept connected to the racetracks like they were when they were first allowed at the tracks. By bundling the tracks and giving them to Casinos to run does nothing for the tracks. These companies are not interested in racing only making profits for themselves. The Government complained about racetrack owners filling their pockets but they allow foreign companies to come in and take the money? How is this right?