For sale sign goes up on Kawartha Downs
Latest step in receivership process for Fraserville site formerly owned by Skip Ambrose
FRASERVILLE — Kawartha Downs has been put up for sale by the Toronto company that has held the property in receivership for more than a year — and although there’s no asking price, the property’s estimated value is $20 million.
The receiver — Rosen Goldberg of Toronto — placed an advertisement in The Globe and Mail on Thursday soliciting written offers to buy the property.
Orazio Valente, the general manager of the Downs, said it was expected.
“It’s the end result of the receivership process,” he said. “Coming out of receivership is a good thing because it removes uncertainty.”
The Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs had been expected to close last month after Great Canadian Gaming opened the new Shorelines Casino Peterborough.
Premier Doug Ford’s government reached a last-minute deal to keep the operation open, but with just 150 slot machines, to provide some revenue to sustain the Kawartha Downs harness racing season.
Kawartha Downs has been closed for renovations since Oct. 15, the day the new Shorelines Casino Peterborough opened.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming stated at the time the shutdown would last two weeks, but 14 days later the slots operation was still closed — with no indication as to when it might reopen.
On Wednesday, Ontario Lottery and Gaming released a statement saying the shutdown would persist for awhile longer — but didn’t specify how long.
On Thursday, The Globe carried the ad that shows the Downs is for sale.
Included in the deal is the leased slot machine facility, the food and beverage operation, race track and stables on roughly
115 acres of land.
The deadline for written offers to purchase is Nov. 30 at 5 p.m.
Valente didn’t know this week when the Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs would reopen and on Thursday he said the reopening isn’t contingent on a sale.
Scott McFadden, the mayor of Cavan Monaghan Township, said “it’s a positive thing” that the Kawartha Downs property is for sale.
“It’s a necessary transaction to occur so it (the Downs) can return to being a viable economic driver in the community,” he said.
McFadden said he thinks there could be “other opportunities” for growth at the Downs when it sells, such as further harness racing next spring or the addition of table games or a concert venue. It’s unlikely the facility will be purchased by the township, McFadden said: the previous township council didn’t discuss it, and the next council won’t be inaugurated until early December.
“Hopefully it’s sold by then,” he said.
Kawartha Downs had been owned by Harvey “Skip” Ambrose when it went into courtordered receivership in May 2017.
Ambrose’s business empire — which included Kawartha Downs as well as 15 other companies — had collapsed beneath a debt of more than $97 million.
Kawartha Downs opened in 1972 and was purchased by Ambrose in the 1990s. In its heyday, harness racing ran twice a week year-round and there was weekly auto racing in the summer.
It faced struggles under Ambrose and in 2013 came close to ending harness racing for good until a last-minute reprieve led to a shortened harness racing season. There are only occasional auto races now.
Meanwhile Ambrose had been racking up loans since 2009, mostly for mortgages on his 20 commercial and industrial properties in Peterborough and the GTA (the racetrack and also industrial buildings, gravels pits and wrecking yards).
Court documents state that by May 12, 2017, Ambrose owed $97.3 million to his Toronto mortgage lender, Romspen Investment Corp. — loans that were supposed to be paid off by 2015.
Kawartha Downs was by far his most valuable property: court documents state its worth at $20 million, double the value of his next most-costly property.
NOTE: Parties interested in purchasing Kawartha Downs are asked to contact Joel Ross at jross@rosengoldberg.com