Leamington horse racing may be at the 'end of the line'

There's worry horse racing at theLeamington Raceway may be on track to shutter in the years to come after organizers were presented with an uncertain long-term funding agreement.

The proposed deal from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation guarantees Leamington's track up to $39,000 for each of the 13 race dates, and only for the next three years, according to Tom Bain, director of the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association.

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Proposedagreement to cover 19 years

His problem is the new agreement would cover the next 19 years, with some uncertainty after the first three years.

"That amount is not going to work for 19 years, (it)might be alright for the next two or three," said Bain.

In addition to what he calls an unsustainable offer, Bain said control of the horse racing operation is in the hands of a private entity called the Woodbine Entertainment Group.

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"They have a board of directors and we don't even have representation on that board," said Bain.

"It'll probably spell the end of the line for us," he said.

We haven't really been involved in any negotiations, it's been dictated to us.- Tom Bain, member of theLakeshore Horse Racing Association.

The deadline to sign the agreement is Monday, but Bain said "we aren't going to do that" because he wants further negotiations.

"We haven't really been involved in any negotiations, it's been dictated to us," said Bain.

Lakeshore Horse Racing Association president Mark Williams said the deal only gives them $4,000 more a race date in purses.

He says they should get at least $65,000 per race like other tracks get, even though they bring in less money.

"It costs as much to train a horse down here as it does anywhere in Ontario,and our feeling down this way is there's no reason we should be the last guys on the end without any purse structure," said Williams.

Hundreds of jobs at stake

This season's races will start the first Sunday in August and run 13 weeks.

Bain said the demise of the horse racing industry would affect about 2,000 people both directly and indirectly. They include the horsemen, blacksmiths, groomers, veterinarians and the farmers who producer the horse's feed.

Horse breeder Bob Ladoceur fears if Leamington and other small tracks close it would put him out ofbusiness, forcing him to lay off his four part-time and four full-time employees.

"It would impact me enough to force me to retire and make this farm a cash crop farm," said Ladoceur.

Alicia Albert, 28, works as a groom on Ladoceur's farm. She would be heartbroken if she lost the job whichshe has had for over a year.

"I'd probably have to workwith customers rather than animals. I really love working with animals," said Albert.

OLGresponds

A spokesperson for OLG said that the new long-term funding agreement supports horse racing across Ontario and will "provide up to $105-million per year for up to 19 years."

"This is $10 million more per year than the industry currently receives," said Tony Bitonti, senior manager of media relations at OLG.

TheSenior Vice President forHorse Racing with OLGwas not available for an interview.