Track GMs On Economic Benefit

While the provincial Liberal Government is publicly discussing scrapping the economic workhorse which is Ontario's slots-at-racetracks program, Grand River Raceway GM Dr. Ted Clarke and Western Fair District CEO Hugh Mitchell have opted to focus on common-sense solutions

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Mainstream media attention in regard to the McGuinty Government's desire to alter the province's slots-at-racetracks program has snowballed since the Drummond Report officially pointed its crosshairs at North America's top racing program last week. Comments from MPPs and editorials by respected columnists have been coming in waves. A piece by O'Brien Award winning racing writer Dave Briggs in the Guelph Mercury has featured Mitchell and Dr. Clarke's take on things, and the duo aren't accepting the misinformation that the Liberals have been spewing.

In Briggs' article, Mitchell, like many others have, stated that the Liberals' reference to the slots-at-racetracks program as being 'subsidy' was an "inflammatory" comment; and that he would "say that right to the premier if I had the chance. It’s not a subsidy by any means.”

When the slots-at-racetracks program was agreed upon in the late 1990s, the provincial government asked and was allowed to introduce expanded slots gaming at tracks across the province during what was a harsh public climate for such action. Instead of having to go out and purchase land in key areas, construct slot parlours and deal with massive overhead and public backlash, the government was able to reap a windfall of revenue from the program while the tracks played host to the gaming areas which at the same time cannibalized its own gaming customers.

“The government didn’t have to invest in land or infrastructure or facilities," Mitchell told Briggs. "They had to retrofit, as we did, and put some capital into the business. They didn’t have to spend anywhere near what they had to for the resort casino initiative. ...It’s just a great business model.”

“This program stands out for its significant contribution (roughly $1.4-billion annually) through the OLG (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.) to the Province of Ontario,” Dr. Clarke told Briggs. “That benefit is multiplied significantly through the additional $2-billion in recurrent and annual expenditures by the industry into the economy of the province — 80 per cent of that in rural Ontario — and the $262 million that flows directly to the province through taxes from the industry.”

The pure numbers don't lie. The program is a proverbial shining light in what many would say is a gloomy economic horizon in Ontario. That being said, Mitchell told Briggs that, going forward, racing's business model must be adjusted to better address the current marketplace.

"We can’t continue to tread down the same road we’ve been treading and accept status quo as a business plan going forward, because it’s not going to work,” Mitchell said.

The Western Fair CEO went on to say, "…I think the wisest approach for our industry is to work together as a group... and work through business solutions for each market with the keen sense of being customer-driven in how we approach solving the problem.

“Maybe there’s efficiencies in the operations that we can assist with as racetracks. Maybe there’s opportunities to grow or expand our operations and grow revenues for government…"

(With files from the Guelph Mercury)