Hugh Mitchell, who has a BSc Degree in Agribusiness from the University of Guelph, first joined Western Fair District (WFD) in 1982 as the Agriculture Manager.
His career took him outside WFD for a period of time, when he served as Senior Vice President of Racing for Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) in Toronto, before returning to WFD in 2005 as Chief Operating Officer.
Mitchell has remained active in the horse racing industry and recently served as Chair of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Associaiton (OHRIA) and President of Harness Tracks of America (HTA).
He is a past Director of the London Chamber of Commerce and past Director of Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions. He currently serves as Vice Chair with Tourism London.
Mitchell joined the Fanshawe College Board of Governors on September 1, 2012.
By Chris Lomon
TROT: In a perfect world, if everything goes exactly as you’d hope, what does horse racing look like in Ontario in 20 years?
MITCHELL: Governance... The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association will have evolved to be the credible and exclusive voice of the racing industry. Membership in OHRIA will be mandatory, representing all breeds and all sectors within each breed, and funded through its membership and government support.
OHRIA will be a highly functional advisory board to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. OHRIA will serve as the only voice of the racing industry and will be responsible for overseeing the management of all industry programs. With the support of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ontario Racing Commission, OHRIA will be responsible for implementing and monitoring an ongoing strategic plan for the industry.
OHRIA will be accountable to government, through the OLG, for the sustainability and growth of the racing industry. The current Standardbred Racing Alliance will have expanded to include all breeds and will have been wrapped inside of OHRIA’s new governance model.
That said, OHRIA cannot be consumed by looking at the industry in terms of the individual interests of racetrack operators, breeders, owners, horse people, Standardbred, Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse.
All stakeholders have to come together with a common focus of accepting, developing and driving a customer driven model that acts in the best interests of the industry. A model that best serves the industry rather than debating about how the model best serves each individual sector.
Fundamentals... In a perfect world racing will be very much market driven. More specifically, the needs of the two critical capital providers to our industry, namely the wagering customers and the horse owners, will be central to all of our business decisions.
The market, more specifically the customer, will dictate how much live racing is conducted in the province and where it is presented.
The production and distribution of our pari-mutuel product in Ontario will become customer centric.
The value proposition behind the pari-mutuel product will evolve to become extremely competitive with other gaming products.
Partnerships... Racing will be fully integrated with gaming and government oversight will come from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. The degree and extent of racing and gaming integration will be specific to each market and dictated by the supporting business case for each. The concept of one size or model fits all will have been disbanded.
OLG will be a heavily invested partner of racing and will have assumed a controlling interest in racing’s future. Racing will have willingly relinquished its independence and given OLG a controlling interest in racing because of a mutually beneficial funding model. This funding model requires a sharing of resources, risks and rewards.
OMAFRA will play a key role in assisting the industry in measuring and monitoring the trickle down economic impact of government support of racing across Ontario. They will also play a pivotal role in equine research and matters of equine welfare.
Regulation... The Ontario Racing Commission will have been absorbed into the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to drive further efficiencies and establish a North American industry high standard of racing integrity.
TROT: What is required to get there and who needs to lead the efforts?
MITCHELL: I honestly think there’s enough leadership inside Ontario’s gaming, racing, and its regulatory framework to deal with the challenges of reshaping and reconstituting our industry.
Racing’s evolution starts with the industry losing its sense of entitlement and accepting accountability and responsibility for managing the much needed transformational change to take it where it needs to go. In addition, the industry must champion a more collaborative and consultative approach to working with government and their agencies.
TROT: Is there a model that you look to as a success?
MITCHELL: There are numerous gaming integration models in place in various jurisdictions across North America. Our circumstances here in Ontario are somewhat different and unique. For example, I understand that the Ontario government’s gaming privatization plan will be one of, if not the largest, ever implemented in North America. In addition, Ontario’s racing industry is one of the largest in scope and size in North America.
However, as unique as our situation is in Ontario, so too is the opportunity.
I think we can learn from racing and gaming models in other jurisdictions but I’m not sure we should plan to replicate a model from another jurisdiction because each does have its shortcomings.
TROT: Why does the industry matter?
MITCHELL: What’s really unique about racing is yes, it’s a business, but it’s also a very gratifying way of life. For those who have stayed involved in the industry, one must have a certain level of passion for the sport and an affinity for the horse. Very few of us who have survived in this business have let numbers dictate our reasons for staying involved.
It’s an industry that was built around the notion that we’re not always in it for the money but the sport and love of the horse. This principle will prevail going forward and will dominate in the next model for racing.
Horse racing matters because it’s a way of life for many people and has been for many generations and can be for many future generations. It’s an honourable way of life that has a tremendous economic trickle down effect in both rural and urban Ontario.
We all need to set aside our own individual interests and focus on what’s in the best interest of the overall industry for us to be successful. If we take this approach with discipline, the chances of our own interests eventually being served are infinitely greater.
Finally, with the right attitude and resolve, together we can and we will make our industry better.
