As changes to Ontario’s harness racing industry come into effect, the 30,000 people it currently employs are starting at their futures with a cautious eye.
This will be the first year of operation at racetracks across the province without receiving annual revenue of $345 million from slot machines.
Instead, the province will provide $50 million in transitional funding.
At many tracks, the loss of revenue will also mean a loss of racing days.
That will lead to a loss of jobs rippling across Ontario’s equine industry – even affecting those who drive horses to and from the track.
“There’s going to be so many drivers standing around and doing nothing. It’s going to be very competitive,” says Bob Young, a stable hand at Mohawk Raceway in Campbellville.
Young’s son Scott now works as a driver. It means long days, but he doesn’t mind.
“Up between 7 and 7:30, at the barn no later than 8,” says Scott.
“I work all day with my dad. Jog and train horses, help the girls groom, stuff like that.”
It’s a job he’s wanted for a long time – and with his dad having worked at the track for 30 years, one he knew was attainable.
“I remember the first time I went behind the start in a car, it was unbelievable,” he says.
“I’ve wanted to do it from then on. I’m going to stay in it for as long as I possibly can – until there’s nothing left.”
But with slot revenue decreasing, times have been tough. Woodbine Entertainment Group, which owns Mohawk, closed the stables along that track’s backstretch in December.
The Youngs were able to keep their employment, but they know many who didn’t – and they’re worried what will happen to their livelihoods if racetracks have to cut any further.
Equine veterinarian Dr. Melissa McKee is another of the lucky few who survived the cuts.
“People have left and I haven’t replaced them because I just don’t have the capacity to hire any more people,” she says.
“It used to be an absolute hive of activity and now it’s like a graveyard.”
