Without a doubt, you are already aware that the entire horse racing industry — not only in the province of Ontario, but across Canada — has been under attack since the mid-February leak of the much anticipated Drummond report, commissioned by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan. Unfortunately, due to the timing of the March issue of Trot, there was no opportunity for me to address this assault in last month’s letter.
That being said, I’m here to address it now, and I want you to know that in your time of concern, of anger and disappointment, of fear for your livelihood, we all feel the same. Don’t feel alone. Everybody is in the same boat. We are all fighting to stay alive together.
In light of launching and continuing that fight, you should know that there have been many, many meetings between different groups (OHRIA, Standardbred Canada, Equine Canada, COSA, OHHA, the CTHS, the OFA, and OPSEU, among others). OHRIA — the Ontario Race Horse Industry Association — is a multi-disciplinary racing group which encompasses significant members of the standardbred, thoroughbred, and quarter horse industries. They are the spokesman for all of us. They have a plan of action. They have hired a lobbyist and a public relations firm, who are helping to get the message to Queen’s Park and who have developed a media strategy that includes radio campaigns, flyers, billboards, and more. We at SC have been involved from day one and have offered support every step of the way.
If Ontario’s Slots At Racetracks program does in fact end by March 31, 2013, we have one year to figure out what our next steps will be going forward. As of yet, there are a lot of unknowns. So what can you do to help?
It is imperative that all of our members write letters to Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, to Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, and to Ted McMeekin, our Minister of Agriculture. You need to remind these men that the horse industry is a very unique industry; most of our participants are self-employed and the devastation of losing the opportunity to race will leave many, many, families without a roof over their head or food on the table. Tell these powers that be how this will affect you and your family personally. Don’t live in Ontario? Don’t let that stop you. This will have an unprecedented effect on racing across Canada, and we need your help to stop the Ontario government from moving forward with this irresponsible plan of action.
I wish I had more answers, but with the provincial government holding their cards so close, it’s very hard for any of our organizations to give detailed directions to its members until we know exactly what we’re dealing with.
I would encourage you to keep abreast of the situation at standardbredcanada.ca and OHRIA’s value4money.ca. Stand up for our livelihood and our passion. Stand up for horse racing in Ontario!