ontario | Horse Racing Free Tips

Lawson: Ministry Of Health Doesn’t ‘Even Want To Try To Understand,’ Won’t Engage In Dialogue

Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson is fed up with the ongoing crisis at Ontario racetracks. The Ontario Ministry of Health has not given the green-light for racing to resume in the province, making Ontario the only major horse racing jurisdiction in the world to not have resumed live racing.

“Racing in the afternoon is safer than training in the morning. This is the ironic part,” Lawson told the Toronto Sun this week. “But they don't even want to try to understand why that is.”

Lawson said the Ministry of Health refuses to engage in any sort of dialogue about resuming live racing in Ontario, despite the fact that indoor sports like professional hockey have been allowed to resume.

Over 1,500 horses and 1,000 individuals have been training and preparing for the 2021 race season at Woodbine alone, and the horsemen are beyond frustrated. Many owners have begun pushing trainers to send horses south of the border to the United States, and backstretch workers' jobs and livelihoods are in jeopardy.

“I am so frustrated,” Lawson continued. “I can't explain to you why there is no dialogue. But there's nothing. The left hand's not talking to the right hand and we are frustrated. (Horse racing) people are taking it out on me and I'm kind of fed up. I've done everything with the Ministry of Health, and there's just nothing.”

Ontario: Quarter Horse Industry Eligible For Equine Benefit Payments

Ontario Racing is pleased to announce that Quarter Horse horsepeople will have the opportunity to access certain purse funds that remain available under the Long-Term Funding Agreement with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) in the event that live racing at Ajax Downs is suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds made available in the form of equine support payments correlate directly to Long-Term Funding Agreement purse funds that have been foregone as a result of the lockdown measures from the cancelled May race days. If live racing is still prohibited under provincial orders related to COVID-19 at the end of May, a new round of funding may be available to Quarter Horse horsepeople (subject to approvals) with new requirements for eligibility. Information pertaining to a potential benefit payment beyond May will be provided in a subsequent communication.

The aforementioned funds were already committed to the industry through the Long Term-Funding Agreement for Live Horse Racing between Ontario Racing and OLG.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario Racing created a task force, as it did during the spring lockdown in 2020, to address the financial impacts to horse racing in Ontario.

“We are pleased to be in a position to offer these equine benefit payments to the Quarter Horse industry,” said John Hayes, Chair, Ontario Horse Racing. “From the onset of the pandemic last spring, Ontario Racing, along with OLG, and industry representatives, have worked diligently to assist horsepeople across the province whose livelihoods have been affected by COVID-19.”

Eligibility Requirements

Horses are currently stabled in the province of Ontario; 3 YO and older horses are in active training for the upcoming 2021 Quarter Horse season at Ajax Downs as verified by the Quarter Horse Task Force.
Horses must have made a start during the 2020 racing season as verified on Equibase. 3 and 4 YO horses that did not make a start during 2020 but were in training during 2020 may apply. Approval is at the discretion of the Quarter Horse Task Force and supporting documentation may be required.
Horses meeting this criterion must apply for eligible equine welfare payments using the below application form.

Application form:

The Quarter Horse Equine Benefit application for this payment can be found here (Application Form). The deadline to submit your application to Ontario Racing is May 28, 2021. All mailed applications must be postmarked by May 28, 2021 in order to be deemed eligible. Please email or mail completed applications to:

Attn: Karen Allen – kallen@ontarioracing.com
Ontario Racing Management
555 Rexdale Boulevard
Toronto, ON
M9W 5L2

Important Notes:
·       All payments received must be used for the care and maintenance of Quarter Horse horses.
·       Any horse receiving assistance under this program must be in the province of Ontario. Horses that are trained by an AGCO licensed Trainer who predominantly races at Ajax Downs but are not stabled in Ontario may apply. Approval is at the discretion of the Quarter Horse Task Force. Horses approved under this criterion will be required to race at Ajax Downs for the entire 2021 meet, if approved to receive funding.
·       Once racing resumes in Ontario, horses who have received benefits under this program MUST make their first start at an Ontario Quarter Horse racetrack.
·       Ontario Racing reserves the right to request additional information to ensure all criteria has been met. Those receiving benefits under the program could be subject to an audit by Ontario Racing. Failure to meet the criteria will result in all amounts being repaid to Ontario Racing.
·       All decisions are at the discretion of Ontario Racing and are ABSOLUTE and FINAL.
·       Horses are currently under the care of an AGCO licensed trainer at the time the application is submitted.

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Woodbine Hosting Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic For Local Community, Backstretch Workers

Woodbine Entertainment is proud to host a Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Woodbine Racetrack, which is located in a 'hot spot', beginning on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 10 a.m. for the Rexdale Community.

The vaccine clinic, which is supported by the North Etobicoke Community Cluster Partners, will operate for a minimum of three days and is open to individuals 18 years and older in 2021 and living in 'hot spot' communities in M9V and M9W.

“We are very proud and grateful to be able to host this much needed pop-up clinic at Woodbine Racetrack for the Rexdale community,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “We look forward to working with our community partners over the coming days to deliver a positive experience that will benefit people throughout Rexdale.”

The Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic will also be open to frontline essential workers who provide daily care to the horses stabled at Woodbine Racetrack.

“These workers are critical to the wellbeing of more than 1,000 horses and obviously cannot work from home. Many of them live in dormitories on our property and in the surrounding areas,” said Lawson.

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‘Banging My Head Against The Wall’: Lawson Frustrated With Racing Postponement At Woodbine

As a result of the Provincial State of Emergency declared on April 7 by the Government of Ontario, which includes a province-wide 28-day stay-at-home order effective Thursday, April 8, at 12:01 a.m., Woodbine Entertainment announced that the 2021 Thoroughbred Meet at Woodbine Racetrack has been postponed. The stay-at-home order was recently extended to May 20, and Woodbine CEO Jim Lawson told the Toronto Sun he is “frustrated beyond belief” with the lack of action by the provincial government.

Hockey, an indoor sport conducted in a confined space, is allowed to continue in Ontario at this time, but horse racing, an outdoor sport conducted in the open air, is not.

Additionally, morning training is allowed to continue at Woodbine, but racing is not. The same workers are needed for afternoon racing, so there is not an increased risk of infection/transmission.

“Horse racing people are pleading with me to give them a thread of hope so they can go back to their owners and say, 'I talked to Jim. It looks like we're going to be able to race.' But I can't give them that assurance or hope because, quite frankly, I'm tired of giving people hope,” Lawson told the Toronto Sun. “I've had good discussions (with the province and Toronto Health) but nothing seems to be happening. I'm banging my head against the wall. I don't even know where to turn anymore. It's not like I'm not having the right discussions with the right people. But someone has to spend an hour – whatever the time is – to go through what we're doing.”