Race dates cut in Ontario

Great Canadian Gaming Corporation (GCGC) announced Thursday that it will cut race dates at Flamboro Downs and Georgian Downs in response to decreased wagering at both Ontario tracks.

In a 24-page business plan released by the GCGC, data shows that wagering has fallen 14 percent at Flamboro since 2003 and 12 percent at Georgian Downs in the past nine months compared to the previous year. Overall, handle in Ontario has dropped by 4.4 percent from 2004 to 2005.

The GCGC will cut racing at Flamboro to five days per week in 2006, four days per week in 2007, and three days per week in 2008. Race dates at Georgian will drop from 120 to 104 in 2007.

“It’s counterproductive to what the slots initiative was supposed to do,” said Jim Whelan, president of the Ontario Harness Horse Association. “They’re jeopardizing the whole industry here in Ontario.”

Although race dates are being cut and the backstretch at Flamboro is being closed in July, the CGCG has made plans to spend over $1.9 million. Some areas for improvement include complete graphics overhauls, distribution channels, product development and customer incentives. The report allocated $180,900 total for “information technology” for the tracks.

According to the release, “harness racing at both sites exists only on the back of slot support. This model is unhealthy and must be addressed.”

When asked what the horse people in Ontario can do to help the tracks improve the quality of their racing product, Whelan said, “(The horsemen) can put out the best product in the world, but if the racetracks don’t do their side of the business and look after it the people aren’t going to come there and bet on it. We have five of the top drivers racing at Flamboro on a regular basis. The top trainer is stabled at Flamboro. We have the best horses and the most competitive racing in the province so I don’t know how much better we can make it.

“The tracks are getting $10 million a year in slot revenue that they don’t even participate in—they’re just the landlord—and they put nothing towards racing, which was the intent (of the slots initiative) to enhance the core product of horse racing,” he added.

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