During the week of July 8 to 12, the OMAFRA Horse Racing Transition Panel undertook a province-wide series of consultative sessions to present their proposed plan for restructuring the Ontario horse racing industry. The Panel (in partnership with Rod Phillips, CEO of Ontario Lottery & Gaming (OLG) presented key elements of their plan at four sessions (London, Toronto, Ajax and Ottawa) and to the public via WEBex connection. The sessions were well attended, and provided an interesting cross-section of views on the Plan proposed by the Panel.

OHRIA would like to thank those that participated in the consultation sessions, and commend participants on their constructive input into the Panel’s presentations. Many thoughtful and valuable suggestions came forward from participants. However, there is still much work to be done before there is a clear view of what the future of horse racing in Ontario will look like.

OHRIA is currently developing an industry response to the Transition Panel’s proposal, with specific focus on providing recommended options on the subjects identified in the sessions. It is expected that OHRIA will prepare a detailed submission to the Panel over the next few weeks. We have received many responses and ideas from industry associations and individuals, and we will examine and consider them in our response.

There is still an opportunity for any interested stakeholder (or other parties) to submit their comments and feedback on the OMAFRA Transition Panel proposal, and we would encourage you to do so an ask that you please copy OHRIA at ohria@ohria.com.

A copy of the full report from the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel report “Toward a Sustainable Future – a Plan for Horse Racing in Ontario” is available for viewing at:

Standardbred Canada website: http://standardbredcanada.ca/news/6-28-13/plan-ontario-racing-released.html OMAFRA government website at: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/about/transition/

Information on how to submit your comments to the Panel, are available from the OMAFRA website at: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/about/transition/suggestions.html

Sincerely,

Sue Leslie

OHRIA President & Chair