A little over a year ago, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation convened a session at the Canadian Gaming Summit to talk about “modernization.” Listening to horse racing’s most important partner dismissing the partnership as “over” was a tough pill to swallow. However, the direction was clear. Decisions were made. And after more than a decade in this relationship, at that moment, there seemed little left to be said.
One year later, I find myself standing at Grand River Racetrack as the Premier of the province hops off a two-seated jog cart, to announce her support for the province’s horse racing industry. Tape recorders are rolling as reporters ask Premier Wynne about the details of a five-year, $400 million plan, to promote a “sustainable horse racing industry.” (See page 14 for more details).
It wouldn’t be difficult to dissect the words of the Premier, and the three-member Panel charged with documenting the plan. Can racing truly be sustainable going forward? Will this industry persevere? Will our political leaders provide the necessary tools to help the sport thrive into the future? Opinions are well documented and plentiful.
For me, on this day, my interest is focused on the Premier’s very clear directions to integrate horse racing and the OLG. Despite numerous discussions, interviews and released documents, this to me remains the least understood aspect of the five-year plan.
I turn to OLG President and CEO Rod Phillips, who is prominent at Grand River on this day, and I begin to ask him about integration and how the OLG and horse racing will work together. Today there is no need to ask Mr. Phillips, “Why?” or “How could you?” Today is a new day, so I ask him, “What type of implementation can we look forward to in the future?”
“I don’t want to prejudge at this point,” he says. “As of today, the gun goes off if you will but the work that we did to get ready for that tells us that it’s about getting back to the customer. If it’s really about the customer then there has to be a focus on live racing.
“We were always focused on the customer as well as impacts on communities,” he says. “We are going to be looking at impacts on horse racing. The Premier says it very clearly: She says if you put your hand in your pocket to place a bet on a horse or a slot machine; it’s gaming.”
While I try a few times, in talking with Phillips, to determine more details of what integration will look like, he’s not biting.
“We will look into this in an integrated fashion,” he says. “We will look into it in partnership with the Ontario Racing Commission and Chairman Buchanen. We’ll make sure the manpower and thought is applied to doing a good job.”
It’s clear that this is a different OLG than the one we saw one year earlier. Horse racing is now called “a priority,” and Phillips does not shy away from recognizing the marching orders he and his team have received. But caution remains the name of the game and details are far from being finalized.
If this is the real starting point, as Phillips characterizes it, there remains some critical work to take place in the months ahead. It is incumbent on the horse racing industry to continue the dialogue and help shape the future. Clearly, now is no time for rest.
Darryl Kaplan
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