Is Woodbine Racetrack doomed without provincial funding?

Get your summer afternoons at Woodbine in while you still can—breeders and horse folk are panicking over the Ontario government’s decision to end the Slots at Racetracks revenue-sharing program, which put $345 million a year into the provincial horse-racing industry. Though thoroughbred lovers say the change in funding could quite possibly kill the whole industry, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said the province is cash-strapped and can’t afford to subsidize the tracks. He added that transitioning away from betting on the ponies is “absolutely in the best interest of all Ontarians.” (Well, except the breeders. And those who like to wear fabulous hats.) [Toronto Sun]