Fort Erie set with some provisos; Colonial deal inching forward

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Fort Erie track deal struck late
By Tony Ricciuto, Niagara Falls Review

http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/201...al-struck-late

Money has been committed and there will be racing at the Fort Erie Race Track this year, according to the province.

But will it be enough to host a full season of competition?

Jim Thibert, chief executive officer of the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium, is not so sure.

"The dollars, the dates and the races are not quite adding up," said Thibert, who took part in a meeting Monday morning with his board of directors and a closed-door meeting was scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. at Fort Erie town hall to discuss a property matter.

"I think this could be worked out if we had a little more time. The problem is that we are in the crunch of being in the last day of our fiscal year. If this was two weeks ago we would have time to work things out.

"We are asking everybody to redo their math. We don't know how it came to this, but for us it's extremely important because we are a not-for-profit group."

The fiscal year for the consortium ended Monday, which meant track officials had to strike a new contract deal with various parties before the end of the day.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has committed $500 million over five years to help save Ontario's horse-racing industry. That's $100 million more than what the province had pledged in October.

For regional tracks such as Fort Erie, Windsor and others, it will be an extra $20 million annually over five years which means they will be able to have up to 40 race dates. Those dates are still being finalized.

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Colonial Downs proposals could end Virginia standoff — but not yet
By Nick Hahn

http://www.theracingbiz.com/2014/03/...-standoff-yet/

A work session held Thursday afternoon after the Virginia Racing Commission (VRC) meeting could lead to an agreement between Colonial Downs and Virginia’s horsemen on the 2014 racing calendar. But it appears no deal will be presented to the Commission until at least mid-April.

Earlier in the week in Florida, Colonial Downs officials met with owner Jeff Jacobs, with VRC personnel present, likely to prepare a hybrid proposal of two slates of dates.

At its December meeting, the Virginia Racing Commission had awarded 25 days of racing in a five-day, five-week format that met opposition from the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (VHBPA), the entity designated by the commission to represent horsemen. At a February meeting, the Commission suggested a meet that would offer 21 days of racing in a seven-week, three-day format that the VHPBA accepted but received no response from Colonial Downs.

Jim Weinberg, counsel for Colonial Downs, stated that discussion held in private would focus on the extension of the length of the meet (that is, weeks), the reduction of live racing days and an increase in average daily purses. In Thursday’s work session, Colonial presented three different scenarios to members of the VHPBA.