ROAD MAP Continued from Page 4
tively the same purse. To support this, province-wide qualifying times have also been established. No longer should a trainer be able to enter a horse into a condi- tion whereby that horse is a certain 1 to 9 opener on the odds board. It turns customers off the product. Quite frankly, it is also bad for the business – what owner wants to see their horse in a race with no chance of winning?
Purse distribution into the pools of tracks where more wager- ing dollars are being bet, as knowl- edgeable industry people have told us, will mean that the horses will be funnelled to those tracks.
It never made economic sense to distribute $70,000 or more for a day of racing at a track that han- dled, at best, $10,000. It also exac- erbated the ORC’s budgetary pres- sures, as its total revenues for that day may only be $300, all the while providing a full range of services. For some time, the ORC has recognized this revenue problem due to the decrease in wagering province wide. It has responded by ‘flat lining’ its expenses for at least 5 years. However, it cannot contin- ue to provide the services the indus- try continues to demand in a “busi- ness as usual” arrangement like the aforementioned.
MARCH/APRIL 2011 THE RIDER/ 5
the public. It sends a message that rac- ing is not just a ‘ward of the state’ but that the government’s investment in racing is paying dividends, and that it is receiving a return on that investment. It is an opportunity I hope the industry will embrace fully.
Rod Seiling Chair
The Development of the Framework In the fall of 2009, race date appli- cations for 2010 were received. If approved, it would have resulted in 150 fewer less race dates than the previous year.
than simply race dates.
As a result of the dialogue and consultations, a number of governing principles were identified and subse- quently approved by the ORC Board in January 2010. These principles that an acceptable model for racing will: 1. Enhance live racing and provide benefit to the agricultural sector in Ontario
2. Allow a fair return on investment over the short term while protecting value for owners and communities over the long term
The ORC Board orders a moratori- um on reductions and directs the Exec- utive Director to commence an industry wide consultative process with the goal to identify a new and better means of allotting live race dates.
Once into the matter, there was a quick recognition that the issues that needed addressing were more involved
3. Provide customer-focused, competi- tive racing by recognizing both supply and demand
4. Leverage and support the horse rac- ing’s partnership with the public sector by using government’s investment to enhance the economic sustainability of Ontario horse racing
5. Encourage and provide incentives for live racing
6. Be simple and objective
Following the 14 month consulta- tion process, a proposed new frame- work based on these principles was brought forward to the ORC Board for approval. Prior to taking any action the
Board met with all the respective industry associations to allow them to provide their own position directly to the Board. There were no dissenters; support was received from everyone.
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Also, please note that purse distribution in this inaugural year of the framework has been limited to tracks with common ownership. This is not new – for example, Mohawk and Woodbine standard- bred have been doing this for many years, to the benefit of the industry.
Classifications of Racing
I think it is useful to point out that tracks have not been classified but rather the races have. The framework allows tracks to make their own decisions on how they best fit into the market and what type of racing they should offer. Tracks can offer more than one type of race.
The classifications are:
Grassroots — a community based racing card that is not normally simulcast.
Signature — a wagering, cus- tomer-focused racing card that is simulcast primarily for a domestic market and which serves as the under card for any Premier racing card.
Premier — a wagering, customer- focused racing card of the highest quality of Ontario product that is simulcast for the domestic and international market.
With these classifications and other refinements, the Ontario Rac- ing Program is projected to offer horse people more and better racing opportunities. With a province-wide approach, no longer will tracks within a region will write the same class for relatively the same day. When that happened under the old system (and there were many such instances), the likelihood of any of the races being filled was minimal. The net result was everyone missed a racing opportunity. Under the new framework, that should not occur. I believe that an important aspect to the framework has been the creation of the Implementation and Monitoring Group. This group is already operational. As I men- tioned, you should contact the Group with your questions. It is the group’s responsibility to ensure a smooth transition, respond to indus- try comments, and to react immedi- ately to any unforeseen problems. This new framework gives the horse racing industry the opportuni- ty to re-position itself as a value- for-money entertainment option to
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