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An agreement has been reached in a months-long dispute over how $35 million in provincial funding for Ontario horse-racing tracks will be distributed, according to racetrack officials.
CBC Niagara spoke with officials from Fort Erie and Woodbine racetracks. While details of the agreement have not been shared, they’ve provided some insight.
For Fort Erie Race Track, a historic employer in the town, the funding has eased fears of layoffs and shuttered doors.
“I still got a job until 2030. That’s nice to know, right?” said communications manager James Culic.
“We’re not ready to announce the exact details yet, but we are going to be increasing purse funding,” Culic said, adding it will be a significant increase. “The breeders, the trainers, the owners…. More money is going to be flowing to them.”
All parties got agreement ‘to the finish line’
Culic said the funding may also bring to life some of the wishes of regulars at the track, including new lanes so there can be up to nine horses per race.
Opened in 1897, the Fort Erie Race Track annually hosts the Prince of Wales Stakes, a prestigious thoroughbred racing event and second jewel in Canada’s Triple Crown. (Diona Macalinga/CBC)
“Negotiations have been stretching starting in late 2025,” said Culic. “It took a lot of work from all the parties involved to get to the finish line.”
The delay in the tracks receiving the provincial funding resulted from Woodbine Entertainment requesting a bigger slice of the $35 million, according to Fort Erie Race Track and the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS).
David Anderson, CTHS president and a thoroughbred horse breeder, said withholding the provincial funding had already “tremendously” affected his operations.
Anderson previously told CBC Niagara that the number of yearlings — horses between ages one and two — for its September sale had dropped by over a third from last year’s number as breeders and owners moved their business to the U.S.
Thoroughbreds poke their heads out of the stables at the Fort Erie Race Track. (Diona Macalinga/CBC)Woodbine sought fair deal for itself, best for industry
Since negotiations ended, Woodbine has spoken to CBC Niagara about the new deal impacting the 15 horse-racing tracks in the province.
“At the very beginning, we were trying to work towards the best deal for the entire industry,” said Bill Ford, executive vice-president of racing. “At the same time, I needed to ensure that there was a fair deal for Woodbine at the end of the day.”
Woodbine owns two tracks, in Toronto and Milton, as well as the casino resort located by the Toronto racecourse.
Woodbine owns two horse-racing tracks, in Toronto and Milton, as well as the casino resort where the Toronto track is located. (Robert Krbavac/CBC News)
Ford said he felt as though “the government wasn’t there at the very beginning” and there were changes “related to gaming funds generated” at their racetracks, but that accommodations came through from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).
“We wanted to ensure that there was sufficient money going to breeders and purses,” Ford said. “And then we also needed to ensure that there was some recognition of the costs and expense of running 128 days here at [Woodbine Racetrack] and 222 days out at [Woodbine Mohawk Park].
“While there was a lot of hard feelings and finger pointing, this is an agreement that everyone can be proud of and we’re working hard to get the money moving as quickly as possible.”
On Wednesday afternoon, CBC Niagara emailed OLG, which administers the government funding for gaming, for comment and will update this story with any response.