Fort Erie to race this year, Ontario HBPA says

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Ontario division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association announced Friday that Fort Erie will stage live racing in 2014.

Details will be announced later, after meetings are held to organize the meet, according to HBPA president Sue Leslie.

Last fall, the Ontario government announced that it will provide the horse racing industry in the province with $400 million in funding over the next five years to help fill the void left by the end of the Slots at Racetracks Program, which concluded last April. Fort Erie was not part of the funding plan, but a government panel recommended that the track could host a ship-in festival, which would culminate with the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

Leslie, however, said a regular-length meet and not an abbreviated one is in the works for this year, which would complement the 133-day Woodbine meet. Fort Erie raced 50 days in 2013.

“I’m really happy for Ontario horsepeople that Fort Erie is going to be up and running, and that we’re going to maintain two tracks,” Leslie said. “I know we’re going to struggle this year with horse supply, but we’re going to have to do our best to mitigate that the best we can. The whole idea is that the industry works with the government to integrate horse racing with the modernization plans at the [Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation]. We didn’t want to see the track get closed up, because it would be very difficult to bring it back to life. If true integration comes, so that we’re part of the OLG’s marketing plan, we believe there will be new revenue streams for Fort Erie in the years to come.”