Racing at Hastings Racecourse to cease after 130 years

[Special Agent]

That was the headline that grabbed my attention this morning, to find it was the Hastings track in Vancouver.

What was interesting was the fact that it is no longer feasible to race at Hastings in Canada because racing will no longer receive a portion of slot machine money, traditionally $8-$10 million p.a.

It looks as though the property has been earmarked for a football (soccer) stadium.

Edited 3 hours ago by Special Agent

[Chief Stipe]

Hastings Racecourse halts thoroughbred racing immediately

End of an era as the site has hosted thoroughbred horse racing since 1889

• ps://bitofayar

Horse racing at the Hastings Racecourse site has taken place since 1889.Mike Howell, BIV

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Hastings Racecourse and Casino Friday afternoon said it would no longer have thoroughbred horse racing. 

The permanent end to that racing had been speculated given that B.C. Solicitor General Nina Krieger in November sent horse racing representatives a letter saying that the government would stop sharing slot machine revenue with the racecourse.https://bitofayarn.com

Her rationale for no longer wanting to share that revenue is that a government review of the industry showed "significant additional government spending" was needed to make horse racing sustainable. 

At one time in B.C., horse racing was the only legal gambling allowed. That prompted large crowds to watch races. In recent years, the number of people attending the racecourse has been far lower than it was decades ago. Exact attendance is unavailable because attendance is free and there are no turnstiles.

The federal government broadened legal gambling in 1969 and B.C. created the BC Lottery Corp. in 1985. Gambling in B.C. expanded through the decades. Licensed casinos were allowed to operate and other forms of gambling became legal. That created competition for racecourses. 

Harness racing at Surrey's Fraser Downs closed earlier this year.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, especially given the historical legacy of Hastings Racecourse in the local community and its importance to the province’s racing industry,” said Wayne Odegard, regional vice-president at Great Canadian Entertainment.https://bitofayarn.com

“Unfortunately, this is strictly a business decision based on a lack of economic feasibility to move forward with another season of horse racing at Hastings. We are incredibly thankful for our dedicated team members, racing participants and fan base for their support and patronage for so many years.”

Odegard said his racecourse's focus will be to support its staff through this transition, as well as "racing participants" as they assess other options for thoroughbred racing in the province.

Thoroughbred racing takes place between April and October so there are no horses currently stabled at Hastings. The casino operations and that of simulcast racebook activities at the site will not be affected.

 

"Today's development is deeply distressing," the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of British Columbia said in a news release. "The province’s abrupt decision to eliminate the long-standing slot-revenue commitment — with only two months’ notice — has destabilized a 133-year-old industry and undermined the financial foundation on which thoroughbred racing in British Columbia has relied for two decades."https://bitofayarn.com

Its president, David Milburn, added "What we are seeing today is the direct and immediate consequence of the province’s announcement."

He said that by removing the structure that made racing viable, the B.C. government "placed workers, owners, breeders, trainers, and agricultural suppliers in an impossible position.”

Hastings Racecourse & Casino, on leased city land on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds in East Vancouver, has conducted thoroughbred racing since 1889. The venue has a five-furlong race track as well as stables for several hundred horses. It also has backstretch facilities.

Great Canadian Entertainment has operated Hastings Racecourse & Casino since 2004 and leases the facility from the City of Vancouver.

The site added a casino in 2008 after Great Canadian invested in substantial property upgrades.

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) in November announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Great Canadian to buy the casino portion of the business and the casino-related real estate property interests at Hastings Racecourse & Casino. This followed the two parties announcing in June that they had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for the transaction.

TWN Chief Jen Thomas told BIV in June that Great Canadian approached the nation about selling the casino business.https://bitofayarn.com

That first meeting then led to an invitation from Thomas for Great Canadian officials to further discuss a potential deal in the nation’s council chamber.

“We met with them, we discussed the opportunity and we said, ‘Hey, now this sounds very interesting, let's dig deeper into it,’” she said.

Site could potentially be future soccer stadium

The Hastings Racecourse site has been rumoured as a potential location for a soccer-specific stadium. The Vancouver Whitecaps, which tomorrow play Inter Miami CF in the Major League Soccer (MLS) cup final, are in lease negotiations with BC Pavco, which owns BC Place. That lease ends this year. 

The Whitecaps are for sale, and that may give the team's majority owner, Greg Kerfoot, leverage in extracting government money to help build a stadium on the Hastings Racecourse site.

MLS commissioner Dan Garber today said without a better lease, everything is on the table for the Whitecaps, including moving the team. 

Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, and Steve Nash are minority owners of the team. 

The ownership group has not revealed the exact size of each's ownership stake. Mallett for the past six years has been executive chairman. He told BIV in 2020 that he and Kerfoot were the ones who approve key club decisions.

“The two Steves are not as active,” Mallett said in 2020.

Kerfoot acquired the team in 2002, after previous owner David Stadnyk stepped down as owner and handed control of the team to the the United Soccer League, which is where the team then played. Kerfoot then put together the team's current ownership group in 2008. The four were awarded a MLS franchise, which came with a US$35-million franchise fee, the following year and saw the team play in North America's premier soccer league starting in 2011.

Forbes this year estimated the team's value at US$440 million.

[Chief Stipe]

There are some interesting issues in this closure.  Pokie and Casino cross-subsidisation of racing.  A land claim by local native american tribes (or first nation peoples as we are supposed to describe them nowadays).