The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is investigating an allegation of harness race fixing at the racetracks in Leamington and Dresden.
The ACGO regulates horse racing in Ontario under the authority of the Horse Racing Licence Act.
AGCO spokesperson Ray Kahnert says “investigators in London did receive a call from a member of the public with concerns about racing at Leamington and Dresden.”
“The AGCO review of this allegation is not complete,” says Kahnert. “AGCO Racing Investigators continue to gather information.”
He adds the fairness and integrity of horse racing is of paramount concern to the AGCO.
Wayne Martinuik, the general manager and treasurer of the Leamington horse racing group says “the allegations are false.”
“The individual who made the allegation did this out of malice,” says Martinuik.
The chair of the Lakeshore Racing Group, Tom Bain, says he only just learned of the investigation today and believes they will find no wrongdoing
Bain believes the complaint has been filed by an owner of a thoroughbred, not a standardbred, which are raced in Leamington and Dresden.
“It’s very frustrating, I'm really disappointed,” says Bain. “We had our best year in recent history in that we broke our attendance record and we broke our betting record with over $41,000 bet in one day.”
Gary Patterson at Dresden Raceway says he is also disappointed by the allegation.
Patterson tells CTV Windsor he is confident they will be cleared of any wrongdoing, and he hopes it doesn’t hurt their plans for the 2018 racing season.
CTV Windsor received information that an investigation into race fixing during the 2017 seasons at Leamington Raceway and Dresden Raceway began in November.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the ACGO at 519-668-7558 or 1-800-522-2876.
