Assiniboia: Manitoba government moves to cut track's slots take

Manitoba’s provincial government introduced a bill Thursday that would reduce Assiniboia Downs’s share of the net proceeds from the 140 video-lottery terminals at the track. The amount is not known.

This is the second time the province has attempted to siphon off funding from the Manitoba Jockey Club, which operates Assiniboia Downs.

Earlier this year the province tried to eliminate $5 million from its budget that was to go to the Manitoba Jockey Club, but the MJC obtained a judicial review of the action and in early May a judge ruled that the province could not eliminate the funding. The $5 million, which was generated from VLT revenues and tax rebates on parimutuel wagering, represented almost half of the MJC’s $9.5 million budget.

Darren Dunn, chief executive officer of Assinboia Downs, said the racetrack had no comment on this latest development.