British Columbia’s government has named a horse racing industry management committee to oversee the industry’s finances and marketing.
“Across North America, the horse racing industry is confronted with competing entertainment attractions that necessitate new, innovative approaches to this sector,” Social Development Minister Rich Coleman said in a release.
“Here in B.C., the province is working with leading industry and business experts to help horse racing thrive, with a strong, coherent new management approach that includes centralized financial planning.”
Where B.C. horse racing was previously managed by independent groups across the province, the new committee “brings the industry together under a single team” to set up a more efficient financial management structure and develop a new marketing strategy to boost revenue, the province said.
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The new committee’s “immediate focus” will be to implement the new financial management structure for Jan. 1, 2010, the province said.
That task will involve reviewing and approving all industry finances; managing all revenue generated from horse racing and government grants through a consolidated industry revenue fund; providing and overseeing financial allocations from the revenue fund to industry sectors and participants; and evaluating and improving the effectiveness of existing business activities.
The committee will be responsible for providing business leadership to the industry, but the province said it will continue to be responsible for regulating horse racing events.
Once this model is formalized, decisions made by the committee will be binding, the province added.
The committee’s members include:
- chairman Derek Sturko, assistant deputy minister and general manager of gaming policy and enforcement for the province;
- Bill Boden, chairman of First Coal Corp. and the largest standardbred owner in the province;
- businessman Glen Todd, the largest thoroughbred owner in the province;
- Michael Graydon, CEO of BCLC, the provincial lottery corporation;
- accountant George Morfitt, vice-chair of WorksafeBC and the Motor Vehicle Sales Authority of B.C.; and
- Milton Woensdregt, chief financial officer of Great Canadian Gaming Corp.
B.C.’s horse racing industry still grosses over $190 million in provincial revenue annually and supports about 3,600 jobs directly. It also supports thousands more jobs indirectly, in areas such as agriculture, the province said.
