The Quebec government is prepared to back racetrack operator Attractions Hippiques to the tune of $28 million a year for the next 25 years to keep horseracing alive at Quebec’s three smallest tracks
, Suzanne Levesque, an assistant deputy-minister in the finance department, confirmed in Montreal Superior Court.
But the deal could still fall apart if lenders (including Attractions Hippiques owner Paul Massicotte) don’t agree to write off 25 per cent of the debt or shave the interest rates on their more than $70 million in loans to the company. Levesque testified during Monday’s court hearings on the company’s request for another 60-day extension of its creditor protection.
She acknowledged that horsemen and breeders’ association representatives had indicated they’d prefer to see Attractions Hippiques fold than accept the permanent closing of Hippodrome de Montreal and a purse total of $12 million annually for the three surviving tracks.
“It’s not an ideal plan,” she said, “but it’s the only one being considered by government.
“If we don’t intervene to save Attractions Hippiques from bankruptcy, there’ll be no races anywhere,” she said. “If it (the negotiation) doesn’t work, the government is letting it drop and withdrawing completely.
“Opening up the Montreal market to other bids is not an option,” she added, because “our reading of the situation is that no private entrepreneur would be interested in a similar deal.”
The government aid would consist of the return of all provincial tax on wagering, revenue from 935 racetrack and teletheatre VLTs, and an additional $9 million a year from Loto-Quebec for the purse fund. On about $40 million a year in revenue, Attractions Hippiques would pay $3 million a year toward purses.
If it discontinued live racing, the government payments would also stop, Levesque said.
The case resumes Tuesday.
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)