So far, so good according to the chair of the Lakeshore Horse Racing Association about harness horse racing in Leamington this season.
After starting August 5, the season is entering its final month at the Leamington Raceway. The last race of the season will be October 28.
Tom Bain, the chair of the association, told BlackburnNews.com both attendance and betting at the Sunday races have been good.
"We've had Sundays where we've bet over $40,000. Even on our small attendance Sundays we're at $30,000," Bain said. "We're betting $10,000 more than any of the local tracks in terms of live betting. We've had an excellent racing season."
Last year, the association went head-to-head with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission after it rejected a 19-year contract that would have effectively handed over control of local racing to the Woodbine Entertainment Group.
At the time, Bain was concerned Leamington would not be represented on a board of 11 representatives.
Now that there's a new government in Queens' Park, Bain said the association is negotiating for a new 17-year contract.
"Hopefully, we can get our message across that there's 2,000 jobs in the local area," he said. "As far as on-track betting goes, we're even higher than the City of London [Western Fair Raceway]."
After it rejected the earlier contract, the OLG gave racetracks an extra year to reach an agreement.
Coming up this month, the raceway is holding a veterans appreciation event on October 14, and on October 21, it is fan appreciation day.
