08/28/2012 12:30PM

Woodbine requests permission to drop 11 Thursday race cards

By Bill Tallon
Email

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine has applied to the Ontario Racing Commission for permission to eliminate 11 of the 13 remaining Thursday racing dates scheduled for the 2012 meeting, which concludes Dec. 16.

Thursday racing, which has been on hiatus since July 12, was scheduled to resume on Sept. 13. But, the Woodbine Entertainment Group now would prefer to conduct Thursday racing only during the last two weeks of the meeting when the entry box traditionally has been extremely busy.

Woodbine’s request was submitted by Steve Koch, vice president of Thoroughbred racing. His letter points out that 88 overnight races would be eliminated and lead to an approximately $3 million reduction in purse account expenditures. Currently, a purse overpayment of $3.4 million is projected for the season.

Woodbine Entertainment Group’s letter of application is open to public comment. Input can be e-mailed to bill.fines@ontarioracingcommission.ca or faxed to (416) 213-7827.

 

Douglas Hines More than 1 year ago
horse racing has to find a way to surnive on it's own without government help or slots help
Gerard Doise More than 1 year ago
Horse racing in general is hurting. They cannot compete against casinos and they have such a dark history of cheating trainers and race fixing. It is also so o much easier for much of the gambling public to thoughtlessly push a button to play a slot machine, rather than make a decision about which horse or horses to bet. A lot of people I know, enjoy horse races but hate the long wait between races and get bored. Now that the Canadian government is going to shut down slot at the race tracks they will all wither away. Race tracks in Illinois were just dealt another blow today by the governor, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed slots at the tracks. They also are set to loose funds that were distributed by the casinos. Maybe it is time for federal regulation of horse racing?
Douglas Hines More than 1 year ago
in this day and age most tracks should only operate 3 days a week that would create bigger fields and a better quality of racing
Robin Dawson More than 1 year ago
Here they go...throwing the furniture overboard. As the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel has suggested..' the industry lacks the cohesion to save itself '....and this really is a bit late in the game.