OLG closes slots at racetracks

[Al Gobbi]

Windsor and Hiawatha are two of them.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1145896--olg-closes-slots-at-racetracks-in-fort-erie-windsor-and-sarnia?bn=1

[camfella]

out of no where, the Liberal Part's revenge ,you have to wonder if they have a brain. The small guy will be hurt, the big guys not as much. As long as WEG gets one of the licenses for slots and can get the casino,they should continue to support racing. I'm not sure that they will support purses to the present level. Racing days will be cut across the Province,but as with many racing agreements the number of racing days are set. What do you do if you are a horseman? Hope for more race dates for less money? That will knock more people out of the industry than the slots at the track program ending. I'm afraid that ,as with most racing decisions, this crazy decision will be compounded by further crazy decisions by it's participants. The punters? I think at first the racing will be better,more people chasing less money. How long will that last? Too much is unknown right now.

[lamboguy]

you should look at the pool sizes in these b-tracks. today at FLAMBORO you had a low of $400 in the win pool, to a high of $2000 in the win pool. the total handle today couldn't pay the total amount in purses.

its not a good business, its stupidity. the horsemen and track management had their chance to make something of the game to boost interest. instead they took the slot money, payed crazy salaries and purses, did nothing to bring in a fan base and now this is the result.

the same thing will happen in this country, some of these tracks will eventually lose their slot licenses.

[JustRalph]

Did I read something wrong? They said they used to make a profit of 800 million a year, but now 'only ' profit 100 million now?

What the hell is wrong with a 100 million profit? Why change?

[Sea Biscuit]

Windsor and Hiawatha are two of them.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1145896--olg-closes-slots-at-racetracks-in-fort-erie-windsor-and-sarnia?bn=1

Its a sad situation for Windsor raceway and the other tracks. They should have seen it coming.

Windsor made a bad business decision to take over and manage tracks like Dresden and Woodstock which were nothing more than white elephants. On any given day they had handles not more than 10 grand and they were shelling out something like 80/90 grand sometimes more in purses alone. These tracks were totally dependent on slots money for survival and they thought that the money train would last forever. They were wrong. Dreadfully wrong.

Windsor Raceway opened its doors for business in 1965 and they were doing ok and sustaining by themselves even without the slots. Then OLG jumped in 1999 and offered them the slots-at-racetracks program with a healthy 25% commission of the revenue they raked in from slots. While offering huge purses to the horsemen from the slots moneys they became lackadaisical in their business approach and did absolutely nothing to increase their fan base and to improve their product during the 12/13 years of marriage with the OLG. Well now the marriage has ended in divorce and OLG wants no part of these white elephants tracks.

The bigger tracks like Woodbine and Mohawk will survive as they will probably end up with a nice deal with OLG and continue to have slots at their tracks. They might even increase their handles as some of the bettors from the axed tracks will be looking for new venues for their betting dollars.

Gone will be those days when young trotters who go no faster than 203 or 204 and use to race for purses o 50 grand or more.

[Sea Biscuit]

Did I read something wrong? They said they used to make a profit of 800 million a year, but now 'only ' profit 100 million now?

What the hell is wrong with a 100 million profit? Why change?

100 million? the Ontario govt just gave up 1.1 billion a year which they were raking in from the slots-at-racetracks program to save 345 million which the race tracks were getting in return. Does that making any sense? Well it does to the Ontario govt I guess. They basically think they can make the money by themselves without having to pay to the race tracks by opening up casinos like the one the are planning to open in the greater Toronto area.

Read these related reports and form your own opinion

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=95942

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/3-12-12/olg-gaming-announcement-imminent.html

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/3-12-12/ohria-responds-dwight-duncan-costing-ontario-60000-jobs.html

http://www.horse-canada.com/horse-news/woodbine-speaks-up/

http://www.windsorstar.com/news/jobs+lost+slams+door+raceway+slots/6298252/story.html#ixzz1p6HjbOP2

[racingfan378]

I agree with Sea Biscuit

The bottom line is tracks that dont have the handle to actually support purses do not deserve to be opened. Why watch a 2:04 mile with a $2k win pool??

Tracks in the states like PID, FP, WRD, FMT, and the small list goes on shouldnt be open as well. Why the hell they pan the empty grandstand at WRD is beyond me. Tracks like that are taking away some ok horses that would survive at a class B track

I dont feel sorry at all for tracks in Canada that cant show a reason why they stay open. But Woodbine and Mohawk have made efforts to make their product top notch. I've seen packed crowds on the Mohawk apron or the excellent WO coverage and pools while AJAX downs races in front of no one for next to nothing handle wise.

Personally of all the tracks in the US and Canada, at least 20% need to close and then the bettor can zero in on full fields, less crap tracks out there and make some decent money.

Horse racing isnt dead and I am tired of people that say it is. Slots at tracks can have a happy marriage if the track actually has a handle! But it depends on who is running the show at each track and people at Woodbine make that effort to put on a great show.

Racetracks come and go, it is sad to see but it does happen. The smaller tracks need to fold up shop (aka mom and pop tracks) and let the right ones stay open. Look how many tracks you can bet on during the late spring into summer months!?! In May there are 39 tracks you can bet on somewhere, somehow. 43 in June which = overkill! In case you are wondering where I got that stat, it is from NTRA

I also dont want to hear the b/s about young people not wanting to bet, they are out there, but they arent going to go to an OTB for a Tuesday card at TuP with crap fields. They do study the form, make bets and get very giddy when they win. Anyone with half a brain can see them losing playing 21 or at a slot machine, the goal should be to have a track step up to the plate and show them all kinds of online tip sheets, free how to bet classes on a weekend which would come with a free program, tip sheet, beer coupon, whatever it takes. Racetracks should also compare gambling adventures. Such as there is only one winner at a poker table per hand. Or slot machines doesnt want you to win unlike the track. Or even better, you can play roulette and hope that you can actually guess a number between 0-37 correctly. Young people need to know the facts on all kinds of gambling out there, and they just dont.

Personally, every track should have free admission and you should have to pay for the better clubhouse sections and good parking. The racetrack motto should be something on the guidelines of "Get paid to be entertained!" or even "We dont care who wins on the track as long as YOU win"

The outing of a ball game ticket price is crazy, or a movie for 2 with drinks and popcorn when you can go to the track and make some money betting the right way! You can see your favorite team lose a game after buying tickets behind home plate, ball park food, etc. but at the track, you arent paying those b/s prices to have some fun for the same amount of time spent having fun and yelling at a horse to get up in the last jump.

I've seen KEE, DM, Fri night at HP, SAR and even AP have crazy ass crowds with young people too and they do what they can to keep the sport young and hip. 30,000 people on a twilight Friday at DMR isnt all old farts, trust me!

I could go on, but thats the step tracks need to do and remember, they got to spend a buck to make ten and not bend over trying to pick up a dime and save it.

[Sea Biscuit]

Take a look at this report on Dresden raceway.

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3492901

Then they wonder why the govt stopped supporting them with slots money

[Robert Goren]

Get a grip! These were border racinos that were depending on US citizens for there business. As more and more US casinos are built, there will be fewer and fewer people crossing the border to gamble. They went from 800 million to 100 million in profits in ten years. The hand writing is on the wall. They are just pulling the plug before it starts losing money. I feel the poor employees who will be losing their jobs through no fault of their own. I do not feel for the horsemen and track executives. They were given a once in a lifetime chance to turn around their business. They chose not to invest in turning around their business and took the the money and ran, thinking that the goose that laid the golden eggs was never going to die from old age. Hopefully US race tracks and horsemen will learn from what happenned to their Northern brothers, but I am not real optimistic that they will. It is not in the nature of anybody involved in gambling (provider or customer) to think about what the future will hold and plan for it.

[racingfan378]

Robert is spot on and the article is the perfect evidence about a company taking the money and not doing anything with it. The gaming board sees the facts and are doing something about it!!

I remember being at the dog races in WV last year and the racing side was a dump while the casino side was so well taken care of. Look at the upper level of yonkers raceway, the place has a 1970s feel to it while the casino side has the lights and glamour of a money making casino. Very few tracks upkeep the racing side and the ones that dont are the ones who dont have the handle supporting live racing and just like I said earlier, shut them down, they dont need to be opened!

The horsemen are suffering along with your regular working staff members that dont get a fat salary. Those are the ones who we are sorry for, not anybody else. Sorry Canada racing, but the most of your tracks did it to yourself.

Look at Caliente in Mexico, if the border and the city didn't get so bad, then they still would have live horse racing. But due to the border traffic, Tijuana crime and of course Del Mar, they couldnt survive and now only race dogs. After 9-11 crossing the border just isnt the same and americans arent going to waste time heading up to canada anymore to bet when they can do the same thing in their backyard. Unless these tracks or casinos do something so different that people want to come out, they will NOT survive

[Sea Biscuit]

The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) has increased the exposure for its value for money campaign both over the airwaves and on roadside billboards.

The billboard above was spotted outside Brantford, Ont.

http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g387/secretariat3/ohria-billboard-2012.jpg

[Sea Biscuit]

Take a look at this report on Dresden raceway.

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3492901

Then they wonder why the govt stopped supporting them with slots money

Very strange things happening in Ontario.

The track with the worst record namely Dresden Raceway with regard to slots money abuse has been spared and will continue to have slots.

Go figure this one out.

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3501481

[Truckinted]

To say Windsor was doing ok prior to the slots is a untruth . All Ontario tracks were in major trouble prior to the slots coming in. The only exception is likley the WEG circuit. The horseman jumped at the new money, drivers buying fancy cars and being very one conventual thinking the gravy train would last forever. Ontario has done nothing to promote its product or fix the image issue, but only got fat from the slot revenue and now are paying the price.