Racing Takes The High Road

The Ontario horse-racing industry has been forced to defend itself after an unprovoked attack by the province's Liberal Government. Although, instead of utilizing disingenuous radio ads, or intentionally pitting an industry against an unrelated issue, the horse-racing industry has only brought the weapons it needs for the battle: facts, logic and passion

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In what could prove to be one of the clearest public articulations of the highly-successful slots-at-racetracks agreement since the Drummond Report bombshell dropped, Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association President Sue Leslie recently addressed the wildly inaccurate 'subsidy' label which the Liberals have tactfully tried to stick on the SAR agreement.

Leslie, who appeared as a guest on Paul and Carol Mott's radio show 'The Motts.' also took the opportunity to spell out how the Ontario horse-racing industry is an integral cog in both Ontario's rural and urban economic machine (to listen to the interview, which is available in two parts, click here for the first part and here for the second part).

In regard to how she felt about hearing the Liberals' coy radio spots, which have attempted to pit the Ontario horse-racing industry against health care and both the province's young and elderly, Leslie conveyed that she was, in a way, let down. "It was just so hugely disappointing and disingenuous that they would make those types of comments," said Leslie, who instantly resorted to truth and facts for racing's defence.

"Anyone who stands back and has a serious look at this revenue-sharing program will see that the billion-plus dollars a year that the province of Ontario makes off the slot revenue goes to those very things. It goes to support education, health care and the elderly. So, to imply that it is actually costing those programs money --- when, in fact, it is funding those programs --- is, as I say, it's a huge disappointment and you have to wonder 'why?'"

Leslie clearly explained that the slots-at-racetracks is anything but a subsidy --- if anything, the agreement is closer to the antithesis of a subsidy.

Citing how the slots-at-racetracks partnership came to be, Leslie outlined how the Ontario horse-racing industry allowed the government to set up shop within horse-racing's walls. At the time of the agreement, Leslie stated that the horse-racing industry essentially said, "Okay, you're our competition, and you want to come into our buildings; and park in our parking lots for free; you want to use our buildings, not have to build anything; you're going to take our customers, cannibalize our product; but, okay, we will consider that, but as long as there is a revenue-sharing formula that makes sense to everybody, so that the horse-racing industry won't get hurt.'"

In how the Liberals have somehow slapped the 'subsidy' tag on the mutually-beneficial agreement, Leslie said, "Well, how can it be referred to as a 'subsidy?' A subsidy is when you give people something for nothing."

The Ontario government has seen its coffers flooded with roughly $1.1-billion in annual revenue from the slots-at-racetracks program. Ontario horse racing's slice of the slots-at-racetracks agreement is roughly $345, annually. The Liberals have tried to paint racing's portion of the agreement as a 'subsidy,' while Leslie has said that it is revenue which ultimately flows right back into the province and the government.

"You have to understand that the $345 million that the industry gets is re-invested in the local economies. I, as a horse owner and horse trainer, if I make some money, which is a difficult thing to do in the horse-racing industry, what do I do? I turn around and buy another horse, and then I hire another employee."

In explaining the far-reaching economic implications of the Ontario Horse-racing industry, Leslie began by stating how racing bolsters employment and positive economic activity.

"The first place you would start (in terms of employment), obviously, is the people that work at the racetracks themselves, but that is a very minute amount of it. By far and large, the people in this industry are the farming community: the people that have bought land, have built fences, have bought horse trailers, have bought horses, hire dozens of employees. …They buy their grain and their straw and their hay from the local farmer up the road. They then go into town and buy their tack, their paint, and it just goes on, and on, and on. (Then there are) the veterinarians, the blacksmiths, the pharmaceutical companies. I could hardly name the amount of people that become involved and have employment because of horse racing. Horse racing is the economic engine of the rural community, and I don't know how anyone can dispute that."

Even though the Ontario Liberal Government has opted to take an inaccurate and highly controversial approach in regard to the provincial horse-racing industry, Leslie said that proper dialogue and analysis is key right now, not a rush to the legal route.

"Well, of course we have had legal people look at it, but I don't think we want to go down that road. I think the road that we need to go down is to convince the province that they are in far-better hands by working in partnership with the horse-racing industry; and for us to sit down, and through a series of dialogues do a proper assessment, do a value-for-money (assessment), understand the economics as they see it, let them understand the economics as we see it, and have productive dialogue in regard to how we can make the program better --- in a way that we can produce even more revenue for the government, but also in a way that won't decimate horse racing and the rural community in Ontario."

During the interview, Leslie also stressed that the Liberals need to remember that Don Drummond called for a review of the slots-at-racetracks program on a value-for-money basis.

"I think we do have to be careful in clarifying that what Minister Duncan said about getting out of 'subsidizing' horse racing is not what Mr. Drummond said. Mr. Drummond said that it needs to be reviewed and assessed on 'value for money,' and we would be more than happy to sit down with the government and assess this program on the basis of 'value for money.' [The figures] are hugely on our side, so we welcome that, and we are attempting, as we speak, to get that opportunity with the government."

For Trot Insider's complete coverage regarding the fallout and uproar in response to the Ontario Liberals' Drummond Report, click here.