4/ MARCH/APRIL 2012 THE RIDER STAFF HON. COL. A.W. FINN CD: Founder


BARRY FINN: barry@therider.com Publisher/ Editor/Advertising Manager


KELLY BOWERS: kelly@therider.com Advertising Sales


JOHN DAVIDSON: john@therider.com Advertising Sales


Established in 1970, Published By 1677846 Ontario Ltd.


P.O. Box 10072, Ancaster, ON L9K 1T2 1-877-743-3715 • (905) 387-1900 Email: barry@therider.com Web: www.therider.com


The Rider is the Official Voice of the following Associations


Printed on Recycled Paper


Fact Sheet: Economic Benefits from Ontario’s Horse Racing Industry - A Partnership That Works!


In the late 1990’s and throughout the past decade, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corpora- tion (now the OLG) entered into a revenue sharing agreement with racetrack operators and host munici- palities in Ontario to allow the placement of slot machines at racetracks.


racing and breeding industry.


• $1.5 billion dollars in wages and salaries are sus- tained annually by the total expenditures of the horse racing industry.


Central Ontario Pleasure Driving Association


The racetracks provided the OLG with access to their existing facilities, saving the government the massive expense of building their own facilities and having to gain the approval of municipalities and the public to build gambling venues in their back yards. This agreement was not entered into lightly by the horse racing industry. After more than two years of economic review and negotiation, both the horse racing industry and the Ontario government’s Management Board of Cabinet agreed that a 20% share of the slots revenue could offset the loss of horse racing’s wagering dollar and customer base to sustain the horse racing industry. This revenue share would also help to offset the cost of operating and maintaining the buildings and properties in which the OLG’s government operated slots are housed. For more than 10 years, the Slots at Racetracks Program has been a highly successful partnership which has allowed the horse racing industry to sus- tain itself and continue providing many economic benefits to the rural and municipal economies, while earning the provincial government more than $1.3 billion dollars in revenue every year.


numbers: Impact of the Horse Racing Industry by the


• $261 million dollars in revenue for the province of Ontario exclusive of slot revenue


• Horse Racing Industry spends more than $2 billion dollars per year in Ontario, with more than 80% of that money being spent in rural Ontario. • Estimated 60,000 jobs are attributed to the horse


From Our Founder


Remembering March 1978


Here it is March 2012 and we are in the midst of the 2012 Can Am show.... certainly a good replacement for the original Quarterama show. The equine industry is in need of events like this at the end of winter. It’s been thirty four years since Quarterama ‘78 was the pride of the horse world. Thank you to Can Am for keeping winter equine events going.


The Rider featured Apollo 1 on the front cover. Quarter Horse Racing had just taken hold in Ontario and the possibility of opening up to owners of Appaloosa, Paint horse’s were being discussed. Apollo 1 was sired by Jet Deck and out of Go Hanna Go. The stallion was offered at $300. Herb Goldie and Angelo Cornaccia were the contacts.


CO-OP Challenger Horse feed was offering a Quarterama Special and was available throughout Ontario at the CO-OP stores.


Dixie Rhodes, widow of Dusty Rhodes, was made an Honourary member of the Ontario Rodeo Associ- ation by a unanimous decision of the Board of Directors.


Ontario Combined Driving Association


Gord Bailey of Strabane Ontario died of congestive heart failure on Jan- uary 30, 1978. Gord brought Canadian history to life on his Captain Andy


• Where the OLG’s resort casinos have lost millions of dollars, the Slots at Racetracks Program have returned billions of dollars in revenue. “Talk about value for money!” *


direct competition with horse racing. In addition, if the proposed changes to the Criminal Code are implemented, the province’s will be allowed to operate sports betting, once again in direct competi- tion with the horse racing industry.


The OLG revenue sharing program has offset the negative financial impact slots at racetracks would otherwise have on the racing industry’s bot- tom line. The ever increasing competition imposed by the slots and other expanded gaming would fur- ther erode the wagering dollar to the point that the industry’s survival would be at serious risk. The government is looking to reduce the horse racing industry’s revenue share at a time when they are looking to expand their own gaming operations in


Racetacks, Horses and Horse People are the bakers. They make the pie.


Mmm, yummy pie. Everyone gets something - Win/Win


daily television show. Gord later became a feature writer and cartoonist at The Rider. Gord brought many fea- ture articles on horses and the NWMP and RCMP to life in our pages.


Crown Trailers had a four page colour insert in The Rider.


Chippewa Saddle Club was estab- lished at the Chippewa Ranch in Mount Hope,Ontario. Gary Omerod, president of the club, advised that they were holding a dance to raise funds for the club and other charities.


The recently formed Ontario Bar- rel Racing Association announced that they were holding two $1,000 races in 1978.


Boulet Boots was the feature advertiser on the back cover of The Rider.


The Rider received an wonderful letter from Bob and Linda Sisson, admission chairs of Quarterama ‘78. The letter was written to advise us of the amazing job we had done in get- ting prepaid admissions to Quartera- ma.


OPINION: ONTARIO VILLAGES ARE MISSING THEIR IDIOTS!


In this part of Remembering I have to mention how The Rider/ Cana- dian Quarter Horse Journal played a part in helping the Quarter Horse Industry of Ontario establish racing in the province. Alex and Norm Picov of Picov Downs, Ajax, Ontario were the movers and shakers in getting Quarter Horse Racing going in Ontario along


Racetacks and Horse People keep a 1/4 slice of the pie to feed their families and their horses


The Government keeps 3/4 of the pie for themselves to feed their programs. It costs them nothing.


with such memorable people as Col. Al Greco, Ralph Pearson, George Egerton Jerry Armstrong and a lot more. They kept Quarter Horse racing alive in Ontario and raced for very small purses on a Sunday afternoon. We were 100% behind this orga- nization and provided endless editorial and photo coverage of the races. The Rider even had a partnership in a horse that raced there.


Then came paramutual racing and then the OLG slots. As I understand it the slots were offered to all race tracks, as they had a regular cliental that were gamblers.


What an opportunity for the province to get a share for their own coffers. All they had to do was con- vince track owners that 20% of the amounts gambled would go to the owners and breeders. This amount was to offset what the track would lose from paramutual wagering. This is money came from slots patrons, not tax payers.


Now the Government wants 100% of the pie. That will put the bakers out of business and so there will be no more pies. The Government will actually get no pie at all. Who wins now?


Hudak says these rich payouts should be protected. He’d cancel full day kindergarten, leaving 50,000 four- and five-year-olds stranded. Are we really going to spend more on horse racing than full-day kindergarten? The PCs should do what’s right. Tell Tim Hudak his priorities aren’t your priori- ties.”


Ontario Reined Cow Horse Association


Out of the more than 60,000 jobs that would be at risk, many of those employed have worked in the industry all their lives, some are even second and third generation racetrack workers who would be unlikely to find jobs in other industries. By preserving the existing program, the gov- ernment would continue to collect $1.5 billion dol- lars annually from the race horse industry (through OLG’s share of slot revenue and non slot revenue paid to the government) while ensuring Ontario’s horse racing industry remains economically sound for those rural communities and the 60,000 families that rely on the race horse industry for employment.


Trying to Understand the Liberal Government Plan, with graphics Follow us on: Proud Members of


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are all registered in Canada as a trademark .


The Rider™, The Western Rider™, English Rider™ and Cana- dian Quarter Horse Journal®


titles


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COPYRIGHT -


Contents Copyright 2012 by 1677846 Ontario Limited, Interna- tional Standards Serial (1209-3995). Reproduction of editorial or adver- tising content is prohibited without the written permission of the pub- lisher. Second Class Postage paid at Hamilton, Ontario, mailed under Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #0469351.


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Picov Downs were a late comer to the Slots as a complete facility had to be built.


The money from the race tracks is found money it comes from gamblers and NOT Ontario tax payers. According to Budget 2011, slot machines at racetracks were responsi- ble, in part, for $1.5-billion of hospital operating expenses, $120-million for the Ontario Trillium Foundation, $41- million for problem gambling and related programs, $10-million for ama- teur sports, and $69-million for gener- al government priorities (pg 234 of Budget 2011).


These billions in found revenue are a gift horse to the province. Just think of the severance packages it will pay to the womb to tomb bureaucracy along with the lame duck liberal mem- bers of the Legislature.


Suddenly the money gambled at the tracks has become a subsidy. Now Dalton McGuinty and Dwight Duncan, on the recommenda- tion of economist Don Drummond, want the province to no longer “subsi- dize” the horse racing industry with a donation of $345 million a year. The liberals have gone mad and they have placed attack ads against the Tory party using horse racing as the stick:


“Did you know that Tim Hudak’s PCs started a secret subsidy for a few, very wealthy racetrack owners? And now in these times of restraint, Tim


It is time to stop the lying and come clean. The removal of this so called “Liberal Subsidy” and the mis- leading advertising is the lowest that I have seen from any party.


It has been very difficult to write the forgoing. I would have liked to really say what I am feeling. I have never had to write an opinion piece like this in the 42 year history of The Rider.


That’s 30 for now. www.orangeapeel.com


Aidan W. Finn CD President


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