Forest City Sale Concludes

There is only one pertinent question to ask. Where are the police in all of this. Oh yes arresting and the courts jailing homeless beggars in Toronto. We in Canada should never point a finger at any other nation and call it corrupt!!

Being a US citizen I neither possess adequate knowledge of the Canadian political system, nor the right of criticism of the same. Being a small breeder/owner of Canadian sired Standardbred horses, I can however respectfully voice my opinion regarding Mr. Duncan's view of all US citizens involved in the sport of Canadian harness racing. I am not the wealthy US opportunist insinuated by Mr. Duncan's insulting statement of US investors plucking money from the so called subsidy trees of the Canadian goverment. No, I am the US citizen who invested in arguably what once was the perfect template of a horse racing program. I am the US investor who brought other foreign investors to purchase and or employ Canadian horses, trainers, veterinarians, farriers and farmers. I am the US investor who witnessed too many well bred horses being sold at the Forest City auction for far less than their stud cost and at a fraction of their true worth due to Mr. Duncan and his political party's underhanded actions. I am the investor who understands the associated risks in any venture, but not an investor who can condone the stacking of a deck after the hand is dealt and all bets are made. I am the visitor/investor who in spite of being overwhelmed with courtesy and respect when visiting the stud farms,training centers, hotels, restaurants, and race tracks by the residents of Ontairo, you shall see no more.

Too true, Paul! And what do we do about it---take it on the chin 'cause we are too damn complacent and polite to do otherwise. Disgusting behaviour by these thieves and liars but we tolerate it vote them back into power and that is much worse.

Murray Brown is dead on. This Province has never experienced the degree of graft and corruption in it's entire history as we have right now. The lies and deception to the public are second to none. And then, there's the fiscal mis-management of millions if not billions of dollars wasted on "green energy initiatives" the Ornge scandal where millions of dollars went "missing", the moving of two gas plants to save two Liberal seats at a cost of some $240 million plus,(now estimated much higher) the sweatheart deal with Ms. Whittmer at a cost of $1 million over 5 yrs. which back fired, the loan by the OLG of $226 million to Caesars which is now in jeopardy, the inside trader deal with Tenanbaum and his bingo halls, and the termination of the SAR program which generates a billion plus dollars for the Province in favour of US mob controlled casinos. The list goes on and on. Where the hell are the leaders of the opposition parties and why aren't they introducing a non-confidence motion in the House to force an election to get rid of this rats nest? We are supposed to be living in a democracy but this is nothing short of an anarchy or dictatorship...... Only in Canada!!!

Heartbreaking is the only way to describe it. I'm proud of all of the horses we put through this weekend but it was tough to watch all that hard work go to pot :(

Maybe it is old age. Maybe it is experience or maybe it is just my general distrust of our greedy and dishonest politicans. Whenever there are billions of dollars involved and the decision appears illogical, I always ask the following question, "who is/are the major benefactors of this decision"? Be concerned if these benefactors have a track record of buying/influencing politicans. In addition, I always hope that someone will investigate the politicians that are primarily responsible for that decision. Did any of them recently make a large cash desposit? Did any of them recently purchase a more expensive home? Vacation home? Pay cash for a large purchase?, etc. This decision to distroy an industry that employs tens of thousands, is generating significant revenues for Ontario and maybe directly responsible for the slaughter of thousands of horses "smells". Sorry to use over used cliches, but "when it walks like a duck, talks like a vested interest duck and smells like duck s@$t", it probably is!

I thought the first day wasn't too bad but the second day was awful and heartbreaking I feel for all the breeders:(

All the outs and buy backs were sad to see. Watch for the NY breds to go big at harrisburg. The smart buyers seemed to keep their money in their pocket. How can they buy on behalf of potential investors of Ontario breds when there seems to be no future.

Murray,

You are right on the money. We have the most crooked politicians here in Ontario as anywhere in the world and you named the criminals, there are better people in jail than these people.

Money to a politician is as cocaine to an addict, they will lie, cheat and steal for it, and never have enough. Politicians promise everyone everything, then punish everyone when they cannot produce on those promises.

Well said, Murray Brown. This is truly a sad day for our industry with so many breeders/investors seeing their futures go down the drain thanks to these thugs who have deliberately set out to destroy what was once a healthy, prosperous agricultural industry that put Ontario on the map in its class and generated several billion a year to the province's economy. These pompous asses should be ashamed of what they have done but they won't have the sense or the morals.

Its terribly sad that a relatively small number of selfish and possibly crooked politicians and those pulling their strings can in effect destroy the livelihood of tens of thousands of hard working honest people. I feel especially bad for the breeders who have invested everything they have in this industry only to have it destroyed by these selfish, self centered thugs. Yes I'm referring to you Paul Godfrey, Dalton McGunity, Dwight Duncan and Larry Tanenbaum.