Horse racing industry getting a $20-million boost by province

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This article was published 23/11/2018 (2516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial government will pony up more than $20 million in grants to the Manitoba Jockey Club as part of a plan to enhance the sustainability of the horse racing industry.

The jockey club will receive $7.4 million a year for the next three years over and above revenues from pari-mutuel betting and VLTs.

The newly announced grants are an upgrade over what the club would have received from the province over the past five years of a 2014 court-ordered settlement between the two parties. Under the old arrangement, the club would have received $5 million in each of the next two years, followed by $4 million the following year and $3 million the year after that.

Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler said Friday the new funding model will make the horse racing industry more sustainable. He couldn’t say how much support the government will be prepared to give once the three years are up.

“We have to support (horse racing) in some way or fashion. I mean it’s a $34 (million) to $40-million income tax return for government. It creates about $112 million a year in revenue from… tourism… and between 1,100 and 1,200 jobs. So, it’s a big business for Manitoba.”

The Pallister government released a consultant’s report last week that recommended the province increase subsidies to the horse racing industry.

The jockey club receives $2.2 million a year from pari-mutuel betting and $1 million a year in VLT revenue.

In 2014, the NDP government and the jockey club reached an out-of-court settlement during which the province would pay annual supplemental grants for 10 years.

The deal followed more than a year of litigation between the two sides that stemmed from an announcement by the government that it was suspending a long-standing agreement in which the track received a larger-than-normal portion of proceeds from the 140 VLTs in place at Assiniboia Downs.

Darren Dunn, CEO of Assiniboia Downs, said the new funding arrangement recognizes the “significant contributions” the horse racing industry make to the provincial economy.

“This new transitional structure will provide important continued stability for horse racing in Manitoba,” he said in a statement released by the province.

— Staff