Ontario Liberals Throw another $100M at Horse Racing

Mar 31, 2014

The Ontario Liberals are giving more money to appease the province’s horse-racing industry.

Premier Kathleen Wynne will announce Monday that she plans to increase support to the horse-racing sector to $500 million over five years, that’s up from $400 million that she announced in October. The funding is subject to review in 2017.

The additional funding is aimed supporting jobs in the horse racing industry.

With the chance of a spring election looming, the minority Liberal Wynne-led government is trying to fix the mistakes of the past, controversial decisions that were made by Wynne’s predecessor, Dalton McGuinty.

McGuinty announced the end of the Slots at Racetracks program in 2012. The partnership agreement gave the province’s 17 race tracks gambling revenue from 1998 to 2012. The program helped keep the industry in business, especially as interest in the sport has been dwindling over the years.

The industry says horse racing directly and indirectly employs approximately 60,000 people in the province.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.