Woodbine among organizations that want historical horse racing legalized

TORONTO – Woodbine Entertainment has joined forces with Ontario Racing and Racetracks of Canada in approaching the federal government to legalize historical horse racing.

The hope is to provide financial relief to the Canadian horse industry during the COVID-19 pandemic without requiring government funding. As a result of the outbreak, there’s no horse racing taking place across Canada.

A release issued Tuesday said 47,000 people who depend on the industry for their livelihoods are impacted.

Historical horse racing is a gaming product that allows individuals to wager on horse races that have occurred in the past. It leverages a database of historical horse races and presents handicapping information that prevents the player from identifying the race prior to locking in the wager.

Once the wager is placed, full information is presented and the race is “run,” providing a similar experience to a live event. This can be offered through an existing on-line platform.

Historical horse racing is available in the U.S. but is barred in Canada. That’s because under the Canada’s Criminal Code the definition of bet, as it relates to parimutuel licenses, is a wager on an event that is to take place.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2020.