Hastings Racecourse ends horse racing after more than 130 years due to financial strain
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.
The 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.
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.
David 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.
“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.
MoveUP, 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.
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