No word on how funding to impact Downs

Orazio Valente says he needs to know more details before he can determine how Kawartha Downs is affected by the province’s $105million funding announcement Friday for harness racing.

Valente, the general manger of Kawartha Downs, said he learned about the funding announcement at the same time as the media.

The Ontario government has pledged $105 million annually for 19 years for the horse racing sector, Peterborough MPP and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Jeff Leal made the announcement at Flamboro Downs in Hamilton Friday.

Valente has stated Kawartha Downs will lose 85 per cent of its revenue when it loses the Shorelines Slots facility later this year when Shorelines Casino opens in Peterborough’s south-end. It’s thrown the Fraserville track’s viability into question.

“I haven’t had a chance to connect with Minister Jeff Leal so I do not know the particulars of it,” said Valente. “I heard the announcement, obviously. It was made at a very high level. I’m still trying to understand what it means in terms of Kawartha Downs.”

Under the existing funding model the Downs receives $1,000,060 annually from the province to cover purses and operating costs, said Valente. The KD agreement is set to expire at the end of 2018. That was its share of the government’s annual $93.4 million funding agreement with Ontario racetracks.

Under the new agreement the province is increasing the annual funding by about $12 million but Valente said he doesn’t know what Kawartha Downs’ share will be. “I’m looking forward to hearing first-hand from the minister what the exact impact is going to be at Kawartha Downs both long-term and short-term,” said Valente.

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.

KD has been struggling for the past year to find a new business model with the impending slots departure. 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 yearround.

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.

Leal says now that additional funding is available, tracks like Kawartha Downs can apply to run additional races.

Valente has said increasing race dates alone won’t make up for the lost slots revenue but it will help.

“That was our attempt to try to find a sustainable operation for Kawartha Downs,” said Valente.

“It sounds like by this announcement by the government there will finally be support for a 40-race calendar, I assume,” Valente added.