Under the Horse Racing Licence Act, 2015 (“the Act”), the Registrar of the Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has responsibility for issuing licences to all participants in racing, including Racetracks. An Applicant seeking to obtain a licence to operate a new Racetrack must submit an application to the Registrar. Once a licence is granted, an approved Racetrack Association must apply annually to renew its Racetrack Operator licence.
Licensing a new Racetrack involves a two stage process:
A staged process for licensing provide the Applicant with a certain degree of comfort that certain regulatory issues have been addressed and allows the Registrar to maintain regulatory control over the longer term project of developing and building a racetrack. Applicants are advised that Preliminary Approval in no way guaranteed that Final Approval will be granted.
It should be noted that at any stage in the process, the Registrar can make the decision not to proceed with an application.
Steps to be taken to obtain Preliminary Approval:
If the Registrar decides not to approve the application, a Notice of Proposed Order to Refuse to Licence will be issued, and the applicant then has 15 days to request a hearing in respect of the Registrar’s refusal.
A circulation of the application to the industry will take place once the Registrar is satisfied as to the suitability of the Applicant to be licensed. Industry participants will be invited to make submissions (in writing) by an established date. All submissions will be provided to the Applicant. The Registrar may also determine other means of soliciting input, including holding a public forum.
The purpose of the public circulation is to provide the Registrar with further information in arriving at their decision to grant Final Approval and licence the Applicant.
Preliminary Approval is issued in the form of a letter and will stipulate certain terms and conditions that must be met before Final Approval for a Licence to Operate a Racetrack is issued. The terms and conditions of the Preliminary Approval must also be agreed upon by the applicant and could include, but is not limited to, the following:
The Registrar will work with the Applicant to determine appropriate filing dates for certain requirements under the terms and conditions, as they relate to the milestones of the project plan filed with the AGCO.
The Applicant will work with the Registrar and the Administration to satisfy the terms and conditions set out in the Letter of Preliminary Approval. At any time the Registrar may require further filings, as necessary, to satisfy as to the suitability of the Applicant for licensing.
Final Approval for a licence is issued in the form of a letter and will stipulate certain terms and conditions that must be agreed to by the Applicant. Depending upon the timing, the Final Approval may be issued with the physical licence in late December of each successive year.
The Registrar may, at any time, make a decision to:
A physical licence is issued in December of any year in which the racetrack intends to start the racing operations, granting the Racetrack Operator authority to operate. It is the responsibility of the Racetrack Operator to apply to renew the licence each year.
Under the Act, the Registrar has the power to affect the status of a licence as follows:
The following is a list of the documents and/or information that must to be filed with the AGCO Administration when applying for a Licence to Operate a Racetrack, where the racetrack was not in operation in the previous licensing period and/or where the applicant does not have Preliminary Approval from the Registrar.
Please note that further documentation may be required at the discretion of the Registrar.
Stage 1 (Proceeding to Preliminary Approval)
Stage 2 (Proceeding to Final Approval)
A final list of requirements will be stipulated in the terms and conditions in the Preliminary Approval for a Licence, and may include:
Documents submitted to the AGCO are confidential and private unless otherwise specified. All documents submitted to the AGCO are subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c F.31.
Forms and information are available on the AGCO website at: www.agco.ca
The preferred submission format for material is electronic. All material must be submitted to the attention of:
Jessica Harvie
Licensing Coordinator
(416) 326-0863
jessica.harvie@agco.ca
Please direct any questions regarding this material to Jessica Harvie.