British ColumbiaThoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility. It comes after the province cut slot-machine revenue to the horse racing industryShaurya Kshatri · CBC News · Posted: Dec 05, 2025 11:21 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Horse Jockeys practice at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, B.C. on April 25, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.Great Canadian Entertainment, which operates the site, said the decision takes effect immediately. It says racing at Hastings typically runs from spring to fall and no horses are currently on the grounds.In its statement, the company described the move as “an extremely difficult decision,” and said it was made due to “a lack of economic feasibility to move forward with another season of horse racing.” The casino operations and the simulcast racebook will continue as usual.Province cuts slot-machine revenue to racetrackThe announcement comes after the province announced, last week, it would stop sharing a portion of slot-machine revenue with B.C.’s two racetrack-adjacent casinos, including Hastings, beginning Jan. 31, 2026. According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, the slot machine revenue from Hastings and Elements Casino Surrey that was being shared with the horse racing industry was approximately $8-10 million annually. The betting stations at Hastings Racecourse are seen last April. The province argues that given its fiscal position, it’s no longer possible to share the racetrack casino’s slot machine revenue. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)That money, the province says, will be redirected to the B.C. Lottery Corporation’s general revenue and will be used for public services such as health care and education.The government says the funding model was “not sustainable” without significant additional spending, which it could not commit to while facing a record deficit.Track depends on slotsDavid Milburn, president of the Horseman’s Benevolent Protective Association of British Columbia, says it’s not viable for the racetracks to operate without the slot-machine revenue.“The decision of Hastings…is, in our view, a direct result of the government taking away our share of the slot machine revenue,” he said.Horse jockeys practice with an empty grand stand at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, B.C. on April 25, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/CBC)“This affects thousands of jobs across the province, exercise riders, trainers, concessions, security, grain suppliers, the breeders, the farms. The government makes the decision and the working person suffers.”He says the association will continue pushing for the province to reverse its decision.Workers say they were blindsidedMoveUP, the union representing more than 100 workers at the racecourse, says its members are devastated.In a statement, union president Annette Toth said the province’s decision to cut funding came without any consultation. “The fact that none of the stakeholders, including our union, was consulted before the funding cut was announced is extremely frustrating and insulting,” Toth said.A person walks the grounds at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019. (Ben Nelms/CBC)“It shows a tremendous lack of consideration for the people who have spent their lives invested in the horse racing community.”The union says its members previously took pay cuts to keep the industry afloat and led campaigns to save the track in the early 2000s.Government support is available for the workers, the province says, including income assistance and skills training. Future of the site unclear The decision also raises questions about the future of the Hastings Racecourse site.Earlier this year, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation announced it had reached a preliminary agreement to purchase the casino business and related real estate at the site from Great Canadian Entertainment. The Hastings site is located in the First Nation’s traditional territory around Burrard Inlet. The deal is still subject to due diligence and final approval from regulators, including the City of Vancouver, which owns the land.CBC News has reached out to the Nation.Meanwhile, the owners of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC said earlier this year that they’re in discussions with the City of Vancouver about the possibility of building a soccer stadium at the PNE fairgrounds, where the racecourse is located.The team currently shares downtown Vancouver’s 55,000-seat B.C. Place stadium with the B.C. Lions and others.Horse racing has been held at Hastings since 1889. With it’s closure and the shutdown of the Surrey’s Fraser Downs racetrack in August, there’s no operational track in the province. ABOUT THE AUTHORShaurya Kshatri is a web writer and reporter at CBC News Vancouver. You can reach him at shaurya.kshatri@cbc.caWith files from Bismah Mughal and Troy Charles
Hastings Racecourse ends horse racing after more than 130 years due to financial strain
