File photo courtesy of Clinton Raceway.
HEATHER BOA Bullet News CLINTON – The manager of Clinton Raceway expects to hear good news when Premier Kathleen Wynne makes an announcement on the future of horse racing in the province today.
“I’m hoping they’re going to announce there will be racing at all the not-for-profits this summer,” Ian Fleming said, in an interview this morning.
He tried to wrangle some indication of where the future lies when he got a call from the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel member John Wilkinson to say he should be at the meeting at Grand River Raceway in Elora to hear the announcement scheduled for noon today. However, he said Wilkinson was “tight-lipped.”
He anticipated the meeting would give the green light to a 20-race season in 2013.
In order to receive transition funding, racetracks will have to meet accountability and transparency requirements.
The raceway is still waiting for a lease agreement in principle to be finalized with the Ontario Lottery Corporation (OLG) for the Beech Street site in Clinton. OLG had expected to finalize the agreement by Feb. 28.
The provincial government will end the province-wide Slots at Racetrack program March 31, 2013.
