Woodbine Amends Shipping Rule

by Perry Lefko

Horse people stabled at Woodbine will now be able to race horses at other tracks two times instead of just once in races with a purse under $20,000 following an amendment of a rule Woodbine Entertainment Group instituted this year that drew criticism from provincial politicians because of the impact on neighboring markets in Ontario, including Fort Erie Racetrack.
Jonathan Zammit, Woodbine Entertainment Group's vice president of thoroughbred racing operations, issued an e-mail statement this week with an amendment to the stall procedures. The new rule goes into effect July 15. Any horses that raced under the old guidelines will have their tally of 'shipouts' reset to zero.
Addressing Woodbine's local horsemen and women, Zammit said the change was made after consulting with many of its “loyal horse people on the backstretch” who were forced to leave in order to find other opportunities to race on the grass following a wet spring.
“The wet spring, coupled with a limited number of grass races we are able to card in a week hampers our ability to make up for those lost grass racing opportunities,” Zammit said in the e-mail. “Rest assured we are working hard to meet your needs and in doing so, have examined all options to ensure our horse people are provided with ample opportunities to race on the grass. Thank you for your support. We will continue to work on your behalf to ensure Woodbine remains one of the best racetracks to stable and race at in North America.”
Woodbine Chief Executive Officer Jim Lawson told Thoroughbred Daily News in an interview last week that patrons prefer full fields, in particular for grass races. Beginning in 2019, Woodbine will revert back to a Thoroughbred-only track after tearing up the inner grass course to create a Standardbred track following the closure of Greenwood Racetrack in 1993. The harness track will be turned into a second turf course, augmenting the 1 1/2-mile E.P Taylor Turf Course, which is considered one of the best of its kind in North America.

Peripheral Effects of Rule Change..
One of the venues likely to benefit from the rule amendment is Fort Erie Racetrack-located about 100 miles south of Woodbine. The original policy limiting horsemen to a maximum of only one race out of town prompted Wayne Gates, the Member of Provincial Parliament for Niagara Falls, to conference with other local politicians and horsemen. In an article in the Fort Erie Times June 14, Gates claimed the policy is another attempt by Woodbine to create a monopoly.
Gates told the Thoroughbred Daily News he is not satisfied with the recent amendment and will continue to exert political pressure through the Mayor of Fort Erie, the General Manager of the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium, the Finance Minister of the Liberal Party of Ontario, and the President of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Consortium, which is the umbrella for racing in Ontario.
“They've been shipping horses and vice-versa from Fort Erie to Woodbine for over 30 years, so there's no reason to [implement any] policy at all,” Gates stated. “So if you ask me, if I'm pleased at the resolve, the answer is 'no.' We should never have had to go through this. Racing in the province of Ontario shouldn't be in a situation of a monopoly. This is certainly a short-term fix, but at the end of the day, we need a long-term fix for our track. I'm hoping we can get the long-term fix as quick as possible, knowing the reality that the horse people need Fort Erie just as much as they need Woodbine.”
Gates indicated the goal is for Fort Erie Racetrack to receive a share of offtrack revenue for its races and a seat on the Horse People's Alliance of Ontario, which was put in place in 2014 to unite all tracks as a common entity working together instead of under the domain of the Ontario Racing Commission. This was all done after the Premier of Ontario announced a five-year, $500 million plan to save horse racing in the province.
Fort Erie Racetrack, where the Prince Of Wales Stakes, has been subsidized by the town since 2010 and has also received provincial support.
“There's lots of stuff that we have to fix here and, hopefully, we'll be able to work with OLG, the Provincial Government and Woodbine,” said Gates. “Obviously, Fort Erie and the Mayor and get a long-term solution so that our track will survive another 120 years.”