Ontario Minister of Rural Affairs Jeff Leal has gone on the record as saying that he is confident there will be racing at Kawartha Downs in 2014.
A report by The Peterborough Examiner has quoted Leal as saying that he believes horse-racing fans and participants have jumped to the conclusion that there will not be live racing at the Fraserville, Ont. oval next year due to what was outlined in late June in the horse-racing transitional panel's draft plan for the future of Ontario racing.
“There is this sense that there were only going to be five tracks,” Leal was quoted as saying. “We recognize that in order to support the premier tracks, you need a series of grassroots tracks. We had great evidence this summer of how important Kawartha Downs plays in that critical role.”
Stating that a not-for-profit model is an important factor for the future of Kawartha Downs, Leal, in regard to if he believes there will be live racing at Kawartha in 2014, said, “I do. I think if we work on the not-for-profit model, there are people in this region who are stepping forward to do that. I’m ever the optimist. There were people who said there wouldn’t be a racing season at Kawartha Downs for 2013.”
The article has also cited Leal as saying that the not-for-profit group which will help bring the track into the 2014 season has yet to be assembled, but that he is expecting it to be created this fall.
(With files from The Peterborough Examiner)