2/ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 THE RIDER


Last Call Continued from Page 1


new, but similar, partnership on gaming or give the surviving tracks table games, sports bet- ting, a horse racing lottery or all of the above in exchange for greater transparency and accountability from the industry. Sure, Paul Godfrey runs the Ontario Lottery and Gaming corporation as if it is his own tiny, imperialist state, but he does have to take some direction from his political masters. Plus, he can be replaced, particularly if the new government finds his direction is out of step with the electorate, which seems to be the case now.


Even better, Double D would no longer hold the reins on the province’s finances. There’s a strong bet he won’t even get re-elected in Windsor if he chooses to run again. Since Duncan has been the most intransigent of the Liberals on the horse racing file, perhaps a new minister would, at the very least, take a call or two from the industry and be willing to listen. Bottom line, an election gives us new hope.


Why it’s not good for horse racing


Can you say prorogue? Clearly, McGuinty took one for the team by quitting and shutting down the legislature principally to stop the flogging the Liberals were getting over the gas plant scandals, and oth- ers.


1.866.235.3401 • www.maplelanetrailers.com


In the meantime, all politi- cal business grinds to a halt fur- thering the Liberals’ inglorious


legacy of doing what’s best for their own party, not the citizens the politicians are paid well, by us, to serve.


Naturally, all this came before some bills could be passed that would help — name- ly the one requiring municipal referendums prior to casino expansion. McGuinty’s resigna- tion came the same week the OMAFRA transition panel was allegedly handing in its final report on the future of horse rac- ing in province.


John Snobelen, the PC member of the panel, has said the government has the authority to still act on the recommenda- tions right away, despite no one having a hand on the tiller and Queen’s Park being shut down. Don’t bet on it.


If you think bureaucrats move slowly when they have political direction, think of how slow they’ll be when the politi- cians go into election mode — first punching each other to try to grab McGuinty’s spot and then going into full-blown elec- tion fervor.


Besides, the bureaucrats were already immersed in a pile of bigger problems, topped by the fight to save their own pub- lic-sector skins.


Why it won’t matter either way


Even if McGuinty had stayed, anyone waiting with bated breath for concrete infor- mation about horse racing’s future was naïve at best. Just because the transition panel hands in a report doesn’t mean the government was going to look at it or act on it. The Drum- mond Report was about as high-


profile as these reports come and the Liberals essentially tossed it on a shelf where it is now col- lecting dust.


For sure, the government wasn’t going to do anything soon about the horse racing file. Why bother now anyway? While it would be nice to have details so all of us could make a business plan, the Liberals already thoroughly screwed Ontario’s breeders. Now that all the major horse sales in the province are over it’s too late to help those impacted the most, so far, by the decision to cancel the slot program.


Best bets here:


Okay, some wild guesses


There will be an election in the spring. We will have a new party in power. The slots deal, as it stands, is dead.


A new government will take a harder look at the gaming and horse racing file and realize a renewed partnership with a streamlined industry can contin- ue to be a huge revenue-genera- tor for the government without resorting to raising taxes. That shouldn’t be too hard to sell to the public.


Trouble is, don’t expect to hear much news of any conse- quence about what horse racing will look like in 2013 and beyond until the spring.


Take heart, my friends, given McGuinty’s departure and all it sets into motion, I think that news will be worth waiting for.


Courtesy of Dave Briggs and Canadian Sportsman, www.canadiansportsman.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76