Living with 'what if?'

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to be part of a group that met with a delegation from China. The representatives, all related to equine organizations, were in Ontario to learn from us. They visited farms, training centres and racetracks, and met with several industry groups to learn and build relationships.

In China, where horse racing was legalized in 2008, plans are in the works to build a multibillion dollar horse racing industry. The Tianjin Horse City, just one proposed facility, is being planned as a $4 billion USD complex covering 330 million square meters and is projected to provide 10,000 jobs.

Huge racetracks, stud farms, bloodstock and auction facilities and an equestrian college, estimated to enroll thousands of students, are all in those plans. The problem: China has very few horses.

So naturally, they come to Ontario. Ontario’s horse professionals are considered global experts on all things equine, including horse racing and especially the standardbred breed. Ontario sired horses have become champions around the globe, and the province’s breeding operations continue to generate revenues from places like Australia, New Zealand and of course, the United States.

Is there an opportunity for Ontario horse racing to play a major role in the building of an industry in China? How about South Africa or Russia – two other nations looking at bolstering their fledgling industries? The answer is clearly yes.

I may not have learned much from my political science education, but one thing I did grasp is that good governments create an environment that supports opportunity. Good governments encourage investment from abroad. Good governments do much more than simply taking tax dollars and dividing them up for the benefit of their citizens.

In horse racing, Ontario is a global leader, with its show already on the road, ready to turn the next corner and make its success a truly international one.

Do we have a government that is proposing to replace a partnership that reinvests in Ontarians, with casino infrastructure that imports knowledge from foreign companies? Or do we have a government that can see the potential of an international powerhouse – the opportunity to be a world leader respected for its innovation in agriculture and rural development?

Ontario horse racing drives the economy, fills government coffers, and sustains 60,000 jobs. But with a little bit of vision, that’s only the beginning.

Often it takes tough times to realize what you have and what you have the potential of losing. We all feel bad for the hard-working families who stand to lose so much from a poorly thought-out deal.

I feel worse for Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal Party. I feel worse for the people of Ontario. I feel much worse for our children. For it is they who will have missed out on a great opportunity. It is they who will live in a province filled with mammoth urban casinos and lottery terminals at every check-out counter. It is they who will see farms paved over for the next power centre. It is they who will have to live with “what if.”