Ontario's Liberal government tardy in approving race dates says MPP

by SUSAN MANN

The provincial government denies it is dragging its feet in renewing horse racing date applications for tracks this year.
 
Progressive Conservative MPP Randy Pettapiece, who represents Perth-Wellington, says in a March 6 press release the Liberal government has failed to approve race date applications for many tracks’ upcoming horse racing season. The contracts outline the terms of the upcoming horse-racing season, including the number of race dates at each track, he says, noting they’re supposed to be signed by April 1.

Pettapiece says he raised the matter in Ontario’s legislature during question period on March 6 and was told by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne negotiations with tracks are ongoing. But he says that’s not what he’s hearing from industry leaders, who told him the process is moving too slowly.

John Snobelen, who has a contract with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food to help with the negotiations, says “Randy is misinformed.”

The final business case proposals for all tracks were due Feb. 28, he says. “As far as I can tell, everything’s progressing right on schedule.”

The race date applications for tracks are rolling “out about as we envisioned and pretty much the way racing schedules happen every year,” he says.

Snobelen says there are 14 tracks in the system that “are being worked out right now” and that’s “pretty much the same footprint we had last year.”

He adds they’ll have contacts signed with all tracks that are operating by April 1 but “a lot of tracks don’t begin racing until late May.” BF