Woodbine Entertainment announced on Thursday (Nov. 25) that the 2020 thoroughbred meet has officially concluded.
"Despite efforts to gain approval from the Government of Ontario to safely complete the 2020 Thoroughbred meet, we have made the decision to officially cancel the remainder of the season," said the track in its announcement.
“While I am extremely disappointed we are not able to complete the 2020 Thoroughbred meet, what we achieved this year in face of significant adversity is quite remarkable,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “I have been around horse racing my entire life and I can proudly say that I have never seen the industry come together as it did throughout this year.
“Together, we were able to develop, implement and follow strict COVID-19 Prevention Protocols that allowed us to be the first sport to return to competition in Canada since the shutdowns in March,” said Lawson. “We safely resumed racing in early June and ran almost 100 racing cards, more than 900 races, and the majority of our stakes schedule, including the 161st running of The Queen’s Plate.
“We hope the Government of Ontario has gained a better understanding of our business and appreciation of our safety record in operating live racing without spectators.”
(Woodbine)
These politicians are
These politicians are completely in the dark once again. They really don't care about people losing their jobs, and they really don't care about the revenues and taxes that are being generated by this wonderful industry.
If people are abiding by the Covid 19 rules don't punish them, punish those that are not abiding by these rules with a heavy fine. As far as I know, the horse racing industry in Ontario, are following the rules set forth by the Ontario government, unfortunately, the government are punishing those that are following the rules.