$105M/year pledged to horse racing tracks
Kawartha Downs can apply again for expanded schedule
The Ontario government has pledged $105 million annually for 19 years for the province’s horse racing sector.
The province made the announcement Friday at Flamboro Downs in Dundas, ahead of the June 7 provincial election.
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister and Peterborough MPP MPP Jeff Leal describes the announcement as a “great day for horse racing in the province of Ontario.”
The funding will start funneling into the industry starting April 1, 2019. In addition to this, other financial support will be available for smaller racetracks and for those that are experiencing financial struggles like Kawartha Downs in Fraserville.
“I’ve been talking about this for a number of years,” Leal said. “We’ve been engaged in this file to provide stability going forward.”
Calling the industry vital to rural communities, Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the long-term funding is in response to the sector.
“We heard loud and clear you needed certainty that funding was available, that it is long-term and that there is funding to support smaller tracks,” Sousa said at Flamboro Downs on Friday.
Kawartha Downs has been struggling for the past year to find a new business model in light of the attached Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs moving to the new Shorelines Casino Peterborough at The Parkway and Crawford Dr. later this year.
In February, Orazio Valente, general manager for the race track, said the slots make up 85 per cent of revenue at the Downs and the track would be unsustainable if that funding is not replaced.
The track applied to bump up the number of races in 2018, proposing going from 18 last year to 40, which would still be a far cry from when the track operated twice a week nearly year-round.
But on Oct. 24 the Ontario Racing Commission, the organization that governs horse racing in the province, declined the application. A lack of purse funding was cited as one of the reasons why the application was turned down.
However, Leal says now that additional funding is available, tracks like Kawartha Downs can apply to run additional races.
Valente could not be reached for comment about the funding announcement.
To further help the industry in rural communities, the Enhanced Horse Improvement Program will continue along with the introduction of a new Racetrack Sustainability Innovation Fund, the province announced Friday.
Kawartha Downs scaled back its racing schedule after the Ontario government eliminated a revenue sharing deal with gave the tracks a cut of the revenue from Ontario Lottery and Gaming slots gambling facilities at the tracks in 2013.