British ColumbiaHorse breeders in B.C. worry the sport of horse racing may be coming to an end in the province, after the government told the industry it would stop sharing revenue from slot machines at two racetrack-adjacent casinos next year.Thoroughbred Racing B.C. says industry will be out around $8 million starting in February 2026Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News · Posted: Dec 02, 2025 12:33 PM EST | Last Updated: 39 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Jockey practice at the Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver last April. The B.C. government has told the province’s horse racing industry that it will stop sharing revenue from racetrack-adjacent slot machines starting next February. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)Horse breeders in B.C. are worrying the sport of horse racing may be coming to an end in the province, after the government told the industry it would stop sharing revenue from slot machines at two racetrack-adjacent casinos next year.In a letter dated Nov. 25, Solicitor General Nina Krieger told horse racing industry representatives that a share of the slots revenue from Vancouver’s Hastings Casino and Surrey’s Elements Casino would no longer be provided.Both casinos are next to race courses — the former at Hastings Racecourse and the latter at the recently shuttered Fraser Downs course in Surrey, which was closed by the city earlier this year for redevelopment.The province says the move to cut funding comes after a review of the industry showed it wasn’t sustainable without “significant additional government spending,” which the province couldn’t guarantee while facing a record deficit.Hastings Racecourse is the only operational racetrack in B.C. after the closure of Fraser Downs in Surrey earlier this year. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)Gary Johnson, the chair of Thoroughbred Racing B.C., said industry representatives were rendered speechless when Krieger broke the news to them in a virtual meeting last week.”I sat there for a couple seconds, realized that nobody else was going to speak,” he said.”And so I said, ‘Minister, thank you for being so blunt,'” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything more that we can say. We need to talk to our [representatives] about this, because it’s absolutely gut-wrenching.”Gary Johnson from Thoroughbred Racing B.C. says the province needs to provide alternatives and transition plans for the industry. (CBC News)Johnson estimated the move will cost the industry around $8 million. He provided the province’s letter to the industry to CBC News, which says the revenue stream will stop as of Jan. 31, 2026.He said Thoroughbred Racing B.C. — whose breeders have been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and ballooning expenses — was already running a deficit.The industry body is in discussions with Great Canadian Entertainment, which currently owns the Hastings Racecourse, to reduce the number of race days there.”And 2025, we actually had to cut seven days because … the income from the slots was dropping. And both of those, that’s the slot machines from Fraser Downs and Hastings,” Johnson said.The betting stations at Hastings Racecourse are seen last April. The province argues that the racing industry’s demands for more government funding weren’t possible in the current fiscal environment. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)Tory MLA criticalKrieger told reporters on Monday that the decision was a very difficult one for the government to make, especially given the “incredible history” of horse racing in B.C.She said the sustainability of the industry was in question for many years, with decreasing revenues and attendance.”I recognize the impact that this will have on on families, on breeders, on workers,” she said.Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Nina Krieger said she sympathized with horse breeders and racers, but the industry would not survive without significant government spending — something she said wasn’t possible. (Mike McArthur/CBC)”There are certainly, you know, supports available to transition to … housing or lines of work, whatever is needed at this time.”Ian Paton, himself a farmer and the Conservative MLA for Delta South, said the “equine industry is dying in B.C. because they keep shutting down our race tracks.””It’s just another part of our agricultural industry that’s going to go down the tubes if we keep losing horse racing,” he said, urging the government to keep the status quo.Delta South Conservative MLA Ian Paton was critical of the government’s decision. (Mike McArthur/CBC)Worry about sustainabilityThe closure of the Fraser Downs racetrack in Surrey was a body blow to the standardbred horse breeding community in B.C., leaving Hastings Racecourse as the only operational track in the province.Johnson said industry representatives were hard at work trying to re-establish themselves in the B.C. Interior, but now face an uncertain future.He said B.C.’s horse racing industry — jockeys, barn workers and associated jobs, like those who provide hay and feed — could see family farms being lost and horses being shipped elsewhere.He said the province should provide the industry with an off ramp, if they can’t figure out an alternative or transition plans.WATCH | Fraser Downs closure shocks industry:Fraser Downs closure shocks B.C. horse racing communityHorse racing at one of the two remaining racing tracks in B.C. has come to an end after the City of Surrey revealed its plans to redevelop the land for housing and other public amenities. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, the news has come as a huge shock to the racing community.ABOUT THE AUTHORAkshay Kulkarni is an award-winning journalist who has worked at CBC British Columbia since 2021. Based in Vancouver, he is most interested in data-driven stories. You can email him at akshay.kulkarni@cbc.ca.With files from Michelle Morton
B.C. government to stop sharing slots revenue with horse racing industry
