The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is pleased that the Ontario government has reached tentative transition funding agreements with another four Ontario horse racetracks.
The new transition agreements – reached with Western Fair, Clinton, Hanover and Grand River race tracks – will help those businesses set race dates for the 2013 season.
“The horse racing industry is vital to Ontario’s economy, representing 60,000 jobs throughout rural Ontario,” said Mark Wales, OFA president in a press release. “The transition funding will provide much needed stability for the industry while a long-term sustainable model is developed that ensures the future of the Ontario horse racing industry.”
Transition funding agreements for the next three years were a key recommendation of the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel.
The panel was appointed in June 2012. Members met with dozens of stakeholders, including all racetrack owners, to determine how government can support the industry’s transition to a self-sustaining funding model, and how revenue sources could be modernized. The industry’s future was compromised in March 2012 when the shared revenue agreement for the Slots at Racetracks program – which enabled the industry to be self-sustaining – was dissolved by the provincial government.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 37,000 farm families across the province. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more. OFA is the leading advocate for Ontario’s farmers and is Ontario’s voice of the farmer.
