The future of horse racing at Grand River Raceway remains up in the air.
Dr. Ted Clarke, general manager of the Elora facility, declined comment on specifics of the agreement the track is trying to reach with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). He would only acknowledge “negotiations” are ongoing.
“We would like to have a sustainable, viable horse racing industry,” Clarke said. “We’ve been exchanging documents.”
The track currently receives a 20 per cent cut of revenue generated by the facility’s 240 slot machines. Any new agreement would see the track paid a fee, not a percentage.
The Ontario government announced late last year it was ending its slots to racetracks program on March 31. The program has supported the horse racing industry financially and generated some $9 billion in revenue for the province over the past 10 years.
In an earlier interview with the Advertiser, Clarke said ending the program could mean a $4 million loss for the track.
He also declined to comment directly on what type of race schedule the track will see this year, pending the outcome of negotiations.
A government-appointed transition task force has recommended $50 million in transition funding to help the industry adjust to the new market conditions when the program ends. The task force subsequently increased the funding when it issued its final report, but the final figure has yet to be publicly released.
Wellington County produced a pro-horse racing video late last year for about $5,000 and sent it to all MPPs in a bid to have the government abandon its decision.
“It shows the county’s investment on this issue was worthwhile,” Warden Chris White said. He will continue lobbying efforts at the upcoming ROMA convention.
Horse racing estimates put the potential job loss at 55,000 when the program ends.
Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj said the decision by the Liberal government to end the program has thrown the industry into a quagmire.
“Before we were all together as partners, now we’re separate entities. It’s been quite a betrayal in the terms of the partnership,” Ross-Zuj said.
The township has been negotiating with OLG about its cost sharing arrangement that has benefitted the municipality. The stumbling block, according to Ross-Zuj, is who the municipality will be dealing with once negotiations are concluded and a possible deal struck. The township’s current agreement expires March 31, with an extension already approved by council.
Township chief financial officer Wes Snarr said Centre Wellington received $2.19 million or five per cent of track revenues in 2012. Of that payment, Wellington County received 21% or $461,000 leaving the township with $1.73 million.
Snarr said township council has signed an agreement with OLG to receive payments until the corporation’s partnership with the track is discontinued.
“It will just continue as is until we know who the ghost in the room is,” the mayor added, referring to the possibility of private sector ownership of a casino at the Elora track.
OLG senior media relations manager Tony Bitonti said the corporation is still in the process of looking for private sector partners to operate casino facilities in its newly-created gaming zones.
Elora is part of Southwestern Ontario Zone 1, which includes Kitchener, Waterloo, Wilmot Township and parts of Cambridge. The OLG sees one casino operating in each of its zones.
Bitonti said the corporation has been in discussions with potential host communities, including Centre Wellington, Wilmot, Woolwich and Kitchener. Cambridge has indicated it is not interested.
As the process moves forward, the OLG is looking at potential private operators which could takeover existing facilities or move them to another location within the zone. New operators for the zone casinos are expected to be announced by the end of this year or in early 2014.
The corporation is working to put together a lease agreement with Grand River.
“Centre Wellington has said they want to continue as a host community,” Bitonti said.
Under the slots program, “10% of slot revenue went to the racetrack and 10% to the horse association with that track,” he added.
The new arrangement is expected to draw on a fee arrangement for the racetrack. Bitonti did not release any specifics about current lease negotiations. The leases would run until a new operator is chosen and then be transferred to the new operator.
“[With] the end of the slots to raceway [it] doesn’t mean the slots are closing,” he said.
Agreements have been reached with 10 of Ontario’s 14 racetracks. No details have been made public about any of the agreements.
