Raise the Hammer

Here is a link to a report titled “The Economic Impacts of Horse Racing and Breeding in Ontario, 2010” submitted to the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association by Econometric Research Limited in November, 2011: http://www.racingfuture.com/sites/defaul...

The report estimates that about 60,000 people were employed in full-time, part-time or casual jobs in the Ontario horse racing industry in 2010. At the time of the report, there were 17 horseracing tracks in Ontario. This calculates to an average of 3,529 people employed on a full-time, part-time or casual jobs at or in support of each track.

The Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel Report struck by the Ontario government and released on October 23, 2012 estimates that the end of the Slots At Racetracks Program could cause the closure of 11 of the 17 horse race tracks in Ontario, result in a reduction in the provincial GDP in the range of $200 Million to $400 Million and result in a loss of 3,500 to 5,800 jobs in Ontario. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/abou...

The Ontario government has already terminated the Slots At Racetracks Program funding for three of the seventeen racetracks in April, 2012. Windsor Raceway closed on August 31, 2012. Fort Erie Race Track will close on December 31, 2012. Hiawatha Racetrack in Sarnia will either close in January, 2013 or possibly operate on a seasonal basis.

The OLG Slot At Racetracks Program funding for the remaining tracks, including Flamboro Downs, ends on March 31, 2013. OLG is in the process of negotiating a short term lease with Great Canadian Gaming Company, the owner of Flamboro Downs, to allow whichever casino operator is chosen for Hamilton by OLG to temporarily operate at Flamboro Downs until it builds a permanent new casino elsewhere in Hamilton. Flamboro Downs is therefore on borrowed time unless Great Canadian Gaming Company is chosen by OLG to operate the casino.

Comment edited by RenaissanceWatcher on 2012-11-14 23:57:13