The Exhibition Association of the City and County of Saint John ('Exhibition Association') announced today it will support the Government of New Brunswick's plan to establish a not-for-profit entity that will lease the existing racing facilities and operate harness racing in New Brunswick.
The plan presented by the Government of New Brunswick includes startup operating resources and the new entity will have access to 150 of the 2,000 VLTs permitted under the new gaming policy. The intent is that the VLTs and simulcast revenue will fund the existing live racing operations and possibly future expansions to other areas of the province.
"The Exhibition Association fully supports this initiative presented by the provincial government and sees this as a win for all parties," said Willard Jenkins, President of the Exhibition Association's board of directors. "The Association will no longer be responsible for the harness racing operations and will be in a position to identify other facilities and activities to fulfill the Association's mandate. There are many details yet to be worked out and we plan to provide this new entity with our full co-operation over the next few months to ensure a successful transition."
After the provincial government awarded the lone casino licence to a Moncton site earlier this year with no racing component, the Exhibition Association welcomed discussions with the Government of New Brunswick on the future of harness racing in New Brunswick. The Exhibition Association will co-operate fully in the transition to support the continuance of harness racing in Saint John. This transition, when implemented, will result in the retention of some 140 full and part-time jobs relating to harness racing.
"The Association will continue to support community activities in the Saint John area," said Mr. Jenkins. "We will continue to exist and be very active in the community."
The Exhibition Association of the City and County of Saint John owns and operates Exhibition Park Raceway, New Brunswick's largest harness-racing facility. The half-mile track has been home to harness racing for more than 50 years.
(Exhibition Association)