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April 10, 2014 | 32 pages
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Inside Rideau Carleton
Raceway gets ‘lifeline’ funding Laura Mueller laura.mueller@metroland.com
News - Rideau Carleton Raceway and horse owners are breathing a sigh of relief after the province confirmed a $26.5-million lifeline to keep racing alive. The new funding program announced funding on March 31 to replace the Slots at Racetracks program, which the province axed two years ago. While the $26.5 million over five years won’t match the old funding, it’s enough to keep racing going, said Alex Lawryk, spokesman for the raceway. “It’s a positive step, but it’s not what we had,” Lawryk said. Before the old funding program was cancelled, Rideau Carleton hosted 154 races a year. With the new $5.25 million annual funding for five years, the raceway is looking to offer 90 races this season. The raceway has only been able to continue hosting racing for the past two years because it had money from the previous
Katerina Mertikas will be heading off to Paris to take part in Canadian Women’s Group art show. -Page 5
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The RedBlacks rename their mascot to avoid negative feedback. -Page 14
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slots program leftover after the funding was cancelled, Lawryk said. That money has now run out, so without the new funding, Rideau Carleton would have only offered “a few dozen” racing opportunities each year. That’s simply because the owners love and are committed to racing, which has been part of the raceway for 50 years, Lawryk said. “It would just be a local, regional-size track,” he said. “That would be the owner’s wish ... I’m sure they wouldn`t want to shut it down. If there was no gaming and no revenue, it would be very costly.” The two-year gap in funding and the uncertainty of the raceway’s future until now have left deep wounds in the local horse-racing industry, Lawryk said. “A lot of people, after two years, have left the business,” he said. “There are mixed feelings. People are quite interested in continuing, quite excited about the possibility of continuing the industry in Ottawa, but it’s a lot less than it was. “We basically have to reignite the interest and rebuilding,” he said. CASINO EXPANSION IN RACETRACK’S FUTURE
Lawryk said the raceway hasn’t been told about a longterm strategy for funding horse racing after the five-year funding runs out, but at least in Rideau Carleton’s case, the facility is hoping to have a casino open by then. See CASINO Page 27
PHOTO BY BRIER DODGE/METROLAND
Talent on ice in Metcalfe The Metcalfe Skating Club put on the Boot, Skate and Boogie show on March 30 at the Larry Robinson Arena in Metcalfe. The show featured a number of skaters, group numbers and special guests. In this photo Laura Gray strikes a pose during her solo routine.
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