Officials of the horseracing industry in Ontario, Canada, are worried that secret meetings involving a casino operator and the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp. could end up harming the harness racing that currently occurs on the Western Fair District’s London Fairgrounds, by moving the existing casino from the fairgrounds.
The London casino is the largest casino in the region.
The horseracing interests are not allowed to attend negotiations between OLGC and Vancouver-based Gateway Casinos & Entertainment, which the OLG recently awarded the rights for gaming in Southwestern Ontario, despite the fact that the industry is thought to support as many as 60,000 jobs in the province.
Five years ago, OLG cut the share of slots revenues that was earmarked for horseracing by more than half, creating something of a panic among breeders, trainers and all those who come under the term: “horsemen.”
Mark Horner, director of Standardbred Canada and the Central Ontario Standardbred Association told the London Free Press, “You got to feel kind of helpless,” adding, “It puts a knot in your stomach.”
Gateway and OLG are in the midst of intricate negotiations under what terms Gateway will operate casinos in the province and reportedly Gateway has threatened to move the casino from the fairgrounds if the terms were not favorable. Gateway is a purely casino business, and doesn’t do horseracing, so this could be bad news for the racetrack that relies on gaming revenue to keep it afloat.
Western Fair currently offers the second-highest racing purses in the region. If the subsidy to the industry falls even more that could be threatened, said Horner.
Hugh Mitchell, chief executive officer of the Western Fair District, which operates the fair on land owned by the city of London, told the Free Press: “Without the lease payments we cannot support live racing. We’re working with the government and Gateway to find a solution.”
Mitchell added, “I’ve never seen something so complex—not in my lifetime, and I’m 63. There’s a lot of heavy lifting left. It really has created apprehension. This is thousands of jobs. The horse people are anxious. Most have spent their lives in this business and they’re not at the negotiating table.”
While horsemen like Horner believe Mitchell is looking after their interests, they are not confident he has the leverage to protect them.
Gateway makes clear that it doesn’t care about horse racing, calling the racetrack and the casino “two separate entities.”
Gateway is pressing for a casino with table games, its brand restaurants and maybe even a hotel. All of which would require enlarging its footprint on the fairgrounds. It is asking the city and Western Fair to sell it the land or cut the $6 million annual least payments. It has bluntly stated that it will move if someone doesn’t sweeten the deal.
Its license with OLG doesn’t require it to keep operating a casino on the fairgrounds.
Mitchell told the Free Press, “We’re looking for complimentary uses that benefit all four parties. Horse racing is in our DNA.”
The London casino isn’t the only one Gateway will be operating. Once it completes its negotiations over the fairgrounds, it will turn its attentions to its other properties.
