FORT ERIE, Ont. — The 2010 season at Fort Erie Race Track will put a new breed of

horses on the track and possibly new faces in the front office, the man in charge of the

112-year-old track's new management said Thursday.

Races for quarter horses — shorter, stockier and swifter at short distances than their

thoroughbred cousins — will be added to the racing menu. Also, plans are under way to

hire a new manager effective July 1, said James Thibert, the head of the new not-for-profit

organization scheduled to lease the track starting Jan. 1.

The announcements came at a news conference at Leisureplex trumpeting the Ontario

government's agreement to breathe three more years of life into the financially ailing track,

the Town of Fort Erie's major employer.

The province will provide $5.6 million a year for three years to help the "Fort Erie Live

Racing Consortium" lease the track from Nordic Gaming Corp., which has owned the facility and

surrounding property for 12 years but has found racing unprofitable.

Efforts to come up with a plan to save the track have been under way for several years.

The money will come from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., which operates casinos at

Fort Erie and 16 other tracks. The Town of Fort Erie, a Consortium member, will add another

$500,000 from its share of slots revenue.

"This is a great day for Fort Erie and everyone involved in the horse racing industry,"

said Kim Craitor, Fort Erie's member of parliament.

"It looks like we have a chance now. We've been on pins and needles," said veteran horse

trainer Jim Woods. "Things look real good."

"I'm delighted we have an opportunity to make money," added trainer and horse owner Daryl

Ezra. "You can reinvest again. I've got owners sitting on the fence, they don't want to buy

horses. Now they can invest."

Plans call for about a 78- to 80-day May through October thoroughbred meet similar to

2009's. Racing would start May 1 with purses averaging about $100,000 per day.

Although details are not clear, plans also call for adding races for quarter horses, which

currently race at a track in Ajax, Ont. (east of Toronto).

Sue Leslie, president of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Agency of Ontario —

one of the Consortium members — said about 100 quarter horse races will be run per

season.

But it has not been decided if there will be a few races per card or if there will be

separate quarter horse programs on certain days.

Expenses connected with quarter horse racing will be borne by the Ontario Racing

Commission.

Leslie said there currently are about 1,000 registered quarter horses in Ontario but

emphasized the Fort will continue to emphasize thoroughbred racing.

Thibert, also president of another Consortium member — the Fort Erie Economic

Development & Tourism Corp. — said his group is seeking a new management company to take

charge of the track's day-to-day operations. He said a "request for proposals" will be

published soon and the current Nordic team would be welcome to apply.

Noting that the gambling and racing industries are suffering downturns throughout North

America, Thibert said the takeover plan "is not without significant risk."

He said the Ontario subsidy "is contingent on slot commissions" and warned that "slot

revenue decreases could impact the subsidy."