FEBRUARY 2014 THE RIDER /7 Erin Town Council Adopts Economic Development Resolutions


Alliance aims to establish a three-tiered hierarchy of racing in the province with two grassroots tracks (Clin- ton and Hanover) at the bottom, four “signature” tracks (Grand River Race- way in Elora, Western Fair in London, Flamboro Downs in Hamilton and Georgian Downs near Bar- rie) in the middle and the


anywhere that I can find. We have an agreement between eight racetracks to run a co-ordinated program of standardbred racing. They can co-ordinate the signal, share costs, share a common race calendar,” said John Snobelen, one of three former provincial cabinet ministers entrusted with reshaping horse racing in Ontario. The Standardbred


while a monumental task, appears to be going well. Two weeks ago, the man- agement of eight racetracks signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form an unprecedented Standard- bred Alliance. “I think it’s a first


the time of Godfrey’s fir- ing that the damage done to the horse racing industry was one of the factors in his dismissal. Now Wynne is trying to rebuild the horse racing industry with a five-year, $400-million investment of public funds and she appears to be back- ing away from expanding gaming as aggressively as her predecessor. The rebuilding effort,


of the chief architects of the gaming modernization strategy to depart the scene. Former premier Dal- ton McGuinty and former finance minister Dwight Duncan — who famously championed a huge casino on Toronto’s waterfront — were the first to resign. Then current premier Kath- leen Wynne fired lottery corporation chair Paul Godfrey, a move that resulted in the entire board of the lottery corporation resigning in protest. Wynne indicated at


expand gaming throughout the province by partnering with major gaming compa- nies to place casinos in most major urban centres. Yet, to date, virtually all of the biggest cities have balked at adding a casino, particularly if it came at the cost of the local racetrack. Phillips was the last


was officially launched, about the only thing that strategy has achieved is the cancellation of the Slots at Racetracks Program; a can- cellation that was devastat- ing to the horse racing industry and rural Ontario with estimates of 9,000 jobs lost. The goal was to


resigned last week from his job as chief executive offi- cer at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming corporation it was another strong indica- tion the province’s gaming modernization strategy has been a failure. Two years after it


Resignation another sign of gaming strategy gone wrong By Dave Briggs When Rod Phillips


executive officer of The Western Fair District, said the agreement required about two months of heavy lifting to bring together outfits with disparate economic goals. The Standardbred Alliance is comprised of tracks operated by not-for-profit agricultural


Group’s two “premier” tracks (Mohawk in Campbellville and Woodbine in Toronto) at the top. Hugh Mitchell, the chief


Woodbine Entertainment


societies (Hanover, Clinton, Western Fair, Grand River), for- profit plants (Woodbine Enter- tainment) and even two (Flam- boro and Georgian) that are owned by a publicly traded casi- no company. “I’m very pleased that this


group of racetracks has joined forces and agreed to work togeth- er for the betterment of the industry. With that comes some give and take. I think a lot of


credit needs to go to Woodbine and their management team who did a lot of the work and are leading the charge,” Mitchell said.


ment to rebuilding the horse rac- ing industry has been admirable, so far, it won’t erase the unneces- sary damage done to the indus- try, particularly to Ontario’s horse breeders who saw their revenue slashed by 50 per cent,


While Wynne’s commit-


Tuesday, the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association appealed to members to attend an information session Feb. 15 at the Holiday Inn Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre prior to the group’s annual awards ban-


on average. The breeders have repeatedly appealed to the gov- ernment for compensation for their losses, but so far, no money is slated to come their way. In a news release issued


quet. The group and its lawyer, Jonathan Lisus, will discuss whether litigation may be neces- sary.


(breeders association) will be able to reach an agreement, but if the government is not willing to provide any form of compensa- tion, breeders need to consider their alternatives,” the release said.


“We are hopeful that the


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