The Canadian Sportsman
In Quotes
Back To In QuotesAugust 04, 2010
“We need new owners and we need new capital, because one of the great problems with the business is we have way too much insider baseball. Everybody involved has been involved forever and is largely a prisoner of their historical thoughts and perception about things. And, particularly in the slots-aided jurisdictions, too many people don’t see the need or the urgency for change. Because of artificial support, they have a comfortable lifestyle.
“Too many of the participants in the industry are anesthetized by the slots support and so don’t see any real need for change, and are quite happy to just recycle the money, which is abundant, amongst the folks that are already playing the game. And, in some cases, it is because they are oblivious to the fact that there is a challenge from the outside. And, in some cases, it is because they are old enough to say, ‘This will go on long enough to see me through my time.’ But we need new people to bring new money, new energy and ask the hard questions, and not be prepared to accept the old answers.”
— Clay Horner (above), partner Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, LLP, horse owner and vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) in the second in a daily series of quotes pulled from our Round Table Discussion entitled 15 Essential Ideas for Saving Racing. Dave Briggs’ Last Call Online column about the Round Table is available here. The entire Round Table Discussion booklet is available to download as a pdf by following this link and clicking on the “Now Available” item in the bottom left corner of the page.
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