"I have a lot of confidence in Stan [Sadinsky] that he'll come up with the best possible plan for the industry and we're hopefully going to be able to support it."
In an interview conducted last week for HBPA, OHRIA President Sue Leslie commented on the formation of the organization's task force and hiring of Stan Sadinsky as counsel. According to Leslie, the OHRIA Board felt that bringing on Sadinsky to construct a plan was best for all parties involved.
"The Board of OHRIA has struggled, we have has felt conflicted in our individual roles and the people we represent," said Leslie. "And with what the province has done, with such a drastic cut in income, it's hard to believe that whatever plan we come up with it's not going to take a hit.
"We just felt it was very conflicted for us, ourselves, to come up with the plan that was going to see individuals within the industry get hurt. So we decided the best way to do it was someone independent who knows our industry well, who is respected by government - Stan Sadinsky - to lead a very small task force, because to be honest Stan will be doing most of the work, and come up with a plan that would be independent, that he sees would be workable for the industry moving forward based on what we can negotiate with government."
Leslie noted that Sadinsky's plan for horse racing would then come back to the OHRIA Board for the organization to either endorse or decline to support. Four years ago, Sadinsky penned a report on horse racing in Ontario for the Liberal government. That plan, frequently referred to as the Sadinsky Report, asked for government to maintain the slots-at-racetracks program but with benchmarks for ensuring the funding was properly utilized.
"We've giving Stan until the end of June to come back to the Board of OHRIA," continued Leslie. "We're very cognisant of the fact that the yearling sales are in September. So by giving Stan until the end of June we're hoping that gives us July to come up with something firm with the government and to get some reassurance to the industry going forward. Government doesn't move quickly, I sure have learned that."
One thing that Leslie sees changing is the governance model with Ontario, given that the Ontario Racing Commission is an arm of the government which is seemingly trying to distance itself from racing.
"Depending on what the end result of this mess is, I can see the horse racing industry taking a lot more responsibility for itself through a governance model and I see the [Ontario Racing Commission] taking less responsibility. Where exactly that ends up I can't say for sure."
Earlier this week, Senator Bob Runciman was critical of racing's reaction to the OLG-Liberal government decision to end the slots-at-racetracks program as of March 2013. On the contrary, Leslie feels that the petitions and pressure has brought racing's plight "to the forefront of government."
"I know it's hard to ask the industry to have more patience but we've got our income coming in until next March and anything we do that is going to cut off any chance of working something out with the government can be done later on," says OHRIA's President. "We've got to make every effort, in my view and the view of many people both in government and experts in public relations and government affairs, all are encouraging OHRIA to continue to work with the government - which we are going to do. Obviously at some point, if we feel we're getting nowhere and we feel that it's not a meaningful dialogue then we'll be the first to tell the industry and, as you say then our strategy is going to have to change."
I doubt Sadinsky, will do
I doubt Sadinsky, will do much to help the horse racing industry, he hasn't done much for us in the past!
Civil disobedience as has been suggested is not the answer either, I have seen many suggestions including a Class Action Lawsuit.
Surely we have a horse owner who is a lawyer, the question I would like him / her to answer is do we have grounds for a lawsuit against the government.
Locking the doors to the slot parlors at the tracks would be one way of getting the governments attention, but I doubt the tracks have the will to do it.
The odd MPP getting front page headlines by saying the government is wrong is also not helpfull, when push comes to shove they will fall in line rather than risk getting the boot from caucus!
The most effective way to
The most effective way to thwart the plans of the OLG and Liberal Party is for Tim Hudak to announce that if elected the Conservative Party will reinstate the SAR program, this move will ensure no big casinos will come into the province, as they know their operations could not compete with the proven track record of the SAR. Looking at the situation from B.C.it would appear that horseracing was one thing the province of Ontario was doing well,it certainally was the best in Canada if not the world. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
Sadinsky wrote in 2008 what
Sadinsky wrote in 2008 what should have been the heads up for the industry. To sit back and be quiet is NOT the answer. What makes them think this will change by playing nice???? That approach is working so well now for OHRIA. Looks to me as if Mr. Sadinsky gave the industry some direction and the industry threw the report in the trash can. Is the industry getting ready to do the same thing again.
Dan Steeves
Can we take a smaller %?
Can we take a smaller %? The answer is yes. The problem is that with the gov't about to launch internet gaming and video bingo(slots), we shouldn't be asked to. The answer however is to expand gaming to include casinos at racetracks, by including table games and a re-worked take for all involved. The gov't and OLG however need to become transparent in this so that all gaming deals will be equal. If not there will be sweetheart deals made with Casino and gaming groups such as Boardwalk, Kilmer Van Nostrand, Trump, MGM etc. The fact of the matter is this whole thing wreaks and needs to have someone like Frank Klees starting to tear it apart in the legislature.
So OHRIA take your gloves off and give this quietly to someone who will tear it apart for the public to see. An election will come and these people will slink back to public life. If this seems to be extreme...well I would say that so many people fighting for their lives is extreme.
No matter what Ohria does or
No matter what Ohria does or says today the damage to the breeding season is done and complete. The important thing to realize is that any compensation to the breeders for this year will be dealt with by the transition fund or lawsuits, and I believe the liberals will pick which option they would like to use. What Sue Leslie I believe is telling the industry is that if the ultimate decision is to sue, protest or outwardly insult the Liberals in public than the minute OHRIA does that the government will lose all interest in a negotiated settlement with them representing the industry. I have no idea whether the only thing that will get the Liberals to reconsider is lawsuits or civil disobedience , but if it is. it will be much more effective if we show the public we tried to reason and negotiate with the Liberals for alot longer than 3 months and they that ignored our advances and only after a prolonged silence and ignorance we were forced to take a more aggressive approach. I can tell you it is very hard to negotiate with someone who is sueing you. As Kenny Rogers said "there will be plenty of time for sueing when the dealings done."
We appreciate the effort and
We appreciate the effort and hard work you have been giving to the horse industry. Hopefully Sandinski and his committee will be what it takes to cut a deal with the government.
Having said that, I don't agree we have to put all our eggs in the same basket. We should make every effort to put more pressure on the liberal to come to the table and negotiate a LONG TERM deal that make sense for all of the stakeholders. I don't feel very confident this is on their agenda. I believe this issue is a resolved one for the liberals.
Every track as committees. The leaders have to come together with a plan to put more pressure, just as the students are doing in Quebec. This seems to be the only way the liberal will respect all of the players in the horse industry.
Block roads, block the entrance to the slots-casino in every race tracks (the government can not afford to loose the income from the slots), then the newspapers will explain THE REAL STORY why the racing Industry is upset, include the building of new casinos (that people don't want). If we can put enough "money pressure" and gain the favor of the public, then we will of won this battle.
My two cents.
I agree with you up to the
I agree with you up to the last paragraph. How are you going to reconcile the damage already done to the breeding part of the industry. From what I have heard bookings are down by over 40% and stallions and broodmares are being moved out of the Province. Time is of the essence. Waiting till March is not going to cut it. Three years from now the racing industry will feel the effect. Lack of entries to fullfill the race cards. Just food for thought. Ken
In reply to I agree with you up to the by mattyroad
From what I understand July
From what I understand July is where the line is drawn in the sand. Does the Gov. work in the summer ?
Government slow moving ? Within days of the report they announced the cut off date
In reply to I agree with you up to the by mattyroad
I agree with Ken. It's
I agree with Ken. It's lawsuit time. Being nice doesn't seem to be working. But keep the door open for some face saving negotiations with these guys. Their face, I mean, because they're going to have to back down. They're a minority government, and what they're doing doesn't make financial sense. Invite them to the track or to the farm, show them some horses, let them jog one if they like, but proceed with the breach-of-contract lawsuit. Cause that's what it is.