Ontario horse racing down 9,000 jobs

The whole point of the slots program in Ontario was to save the tracks and add revenue to the provincial treasury. At the time it was proposed, that was the rationale - slot machines never would have been approved without the racetrack purse enhancements. Now the provincial government is backdooring the withdrawal from the program and keeping all the revenue.

Flamboro Downs is down to a few months of racing this year (used to be almost the entire year)

Woodbine opened a few weeks later than usual and are down to four days a week from five.

Fort Erie, one of the oldest tracks in North America, announced last year that they would close at the end of the 2012 season, but a deal with their landlord enabled them to race this year. Next year is still in doubt.

Windsor Raceway outside of Detroit closed last year.

A few of marginal harness tracks will probably close sometime over the winter.

It's a shame that the industry that was used to get a foothold in the gambling industry in Ontario are now being shut out entirely.

Could be, but but there are still things going on up there that hopefully will enable the tracks to retain some of the purse enhancements, but there is nothing really determined yet.

From what I read earlier this year, there also is a two-year "interim" plan to give the tracks some money, which will end after those two years if nothing else is done.

I forgot to mention above that at the end of last year's Woodbine thoroughbred season there were mass layoffs and cutbacks.