BCHRIMC MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, MAY 31ST

The British Columbia Horse Racing Industry Management Committee met on Thursday morning at the offices of BCLC in Vancouver.

The committee had received several complaints about the track condition, the lack of a odds board and the continuing decay of the backstretch buildings and facilities etc etc.

Patrons, horse owners and trainers had taken to social media sites to expound their frustrations.

If I had a dollar for everyone who questioned me on the Tote Board or lack of, I would be able to buy a good stake horse.

Several patrons and horsemen implied Hastings is now a Ghetto and other choice words.

When the meeting agenda came out on Tuesday, I noticed several of the management team of GCGC were attending the meeting to discuss these very serious issues.

I then reached out to Chairman Jim Lightbody and asked if I could invite the Presidents of our Associations to attend as well. On receiving approval I then asked the three presidents if they would like to attend along with me to hear GCGC answers. Of course all three immediately accepted the invitation and rushed together an Executive Summary and an additional letter for me to present to the Committee as well as GCGC. They are attached below for your reading.

My personal opinion was we received some satisfaction on the tote board and it would be replaced very shortly and a few other items but an overall upgrade is not going to happen in the near future if at all or likely not in my lifetime.

David Milburn and I are meeting with Hastings Management and GCGC senior staff members today to do a walk about on the backstretch to point out the unacceptable conditions.

Stay tuned more to come.

GLEN TODD
Thoroughbred Representative
British Columbia Horse Racing Industry Management Committee

Executive Summary

The license for slots came with an obligation to run a six-month season and insure the stability of racing.

GCGC has failed to meet that commitment as evidenced by the decay and disrepair at Hastings.

The breeding sector has suffered greatly due to GCGC’s lack of interest in racing.

The current absence of a functioning totalizator board at Hastings illustrates GCGC’s lack of commitment.

GCGC did nothing to fix the board at Hastings despite knowing it would not work.

The lack of a functioning tote has done significant damage to the Hastings brand.

GCGC insisted the money come out of a fund created to ameliorate the disrepair at Hastings.

GCGC attempted to extract stall rent at Hastings for the 2010 racing season.

In 2012, GCGC proposed a 29-day season at Hastings.

While their stock price soars, GCGC refuses to invest in racing.

Owners of thoroughbreds annually make an investment in the range of 15-20 million dollars.

Short-term agreements and leases must cease. They mitigate against stability.

The thoroughbred associations have created incentives that have increased horse ownership and breeding. However, it will be difficult to succeed with GCGC as the track operator.

The thoroughbred associations request that the HRIMC assist us in finding a new track operator.

FURTHER LETTER PRESENTED TO BCHRIMC

Mr. Glen Todd

Thoroughbred Representative

British Columbia Horse Racing Industry Management Committee

Dear Mr. Todd:

The thoroughbred industry in BC is being damaged by the ongoing neglect of Great Canadian Gaming Corporation (GCGC), operators of Hastings Racecourse. GCGC made certain commitments when they received the gaming license for the Hastings slots. They included running a 6-month racing season in a manner that would assist and promote the well-being of the industry, including the agricultural component that comprises the breeding sector. All aspects of the industry have suffered under GCGC’s “stewardship”, or more accurately, lack thereof.

GCGC’s disinterest is manifested by a refusal to make the investments necessary for maintaining a facility that has fallen into a state of disrepair. It can be seen in the current situation at Hastings vis a vis the totalizator (tote) board. The tote board has not functioned at all this season to the frequently and emphatically expressed dismay of Hastings patrons who consider it an essential source of information

GCGC knew well in advance the board would not be functional. After learning about it shortly before the season began, the thoroughbred associations asked GCGC to fix it. We were advised that it would cost approximately $140,000 and the money would have to come from a fund that had been created to begin to ameliorate the disrepair brought about by years of neglect. After discussion, GCGC agreed to allow $60,000 in manure disposal money, a charge paid by the horsemen themselves, to be repaid to the fund. The other $80,000 that would have gone into repairs must now be diverted to meet GCGC’s obligations.

This is only the latest example of GCGC’s attempt to take every possible edge in relation to other industry stakeholders. In 2010 they attempted to extract stall rent at Hastings during the racing season. The BC Horse Racing Industry Management Committee (HRIMC) stepped in to overrule the introduction of an extra cost that is customarily borne by the track operator.

In 2012, GCGC proposed a 29-day season for Hastings. The original operating agreement with the City of Vancouver was for 71 days. By 2012 that had been reduced to 54 days. However, GCGC stated that in order to run 54 days, the horsemen would have to pay for the other 25. Twenty-nine days would have been impossible economically for the industry. Further, it would have destroyed the jobs racing provides. The frontside union workers would have been hard hit. Backstretch workers, many of them difficult to place in other situations, would have been decimated. Fortunately, the HRIMC stepped in to insist on a 6-month season.

These instances illustrate certain core issues. However, the larger problem is the day-to-day lack of interest, coupled with an unwillingness to make the investments necessary for any undertaking to succeed.

While GCGC stock prices soar, it refuses to provide the resources that would give the industry a chance to flourish. At the same time, thoroughbred owners annually make an investment in the range of 15-20 million dollars. This is spent on workers, veterinarians, farriers and the purchase of horses and feed from the agricultural sector.

For the industry to advance and continue to provide the jobs and economic activity it generates, changes are required. If GCGC is not committed to the industry, as appears to be the case, another operator should be given the opportunity, along with the financial incentives and structures now available to GCGC.

Short-term operating agreements must cease. The industry and its agricultural component, breeding, require long-term stability. It is not possible to plan or invest on a three-year time frame that becomes two and then one year as the agreement moves forward.

The racing associations have created incentives designed to increase horse ownership and breeding. Despite their best efforts, it will be difficult to succeed without a track operator, a partner, who has a vision for the future and a desire to implement that vision.

The Great Canadian Gaming Corporation has made no secret of its view of the thoroughbred industry’ s future. In an article that appeared in the Vancouver Courier on March 9, 2012, the Great Canadian CEO Rod Baker described thoroughbred racing as “sunsetting “. Great Canadian’s corporate policies would appear to be designed to guarantee that this view becomes reality.

Thus, given GCGC’s palpable lack of interest in racing and its refusal to meet its obligation to make reasonable efforts on behalf of the industry, the thoroughbred associations request that the HRIMC assist us in finding an operator who wants to be a part of the thoroughbred industry in this province.

Yours truly,

Grant Watson – President – Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (BC Division)

Ole Nielsen- President – BC Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association

David Milburn- President – Horsemen’ s Benevolent and Protective Association of BC