Racehorses sold for meat as Quebec race industry comes up lame
at 14:59 on December 30, 2008, EDT.
Andy Blatchford, THE CANADIAN PRESS
ST-ANDRE-D'ARGENTEUIL, Que. - Hoofing past the racehorse stalls along the hay-covered floors of his stable, one of Quebec's largest breeders is quick to boast that he's among champions.

Yves Filion says he's had a lifelong passion for horse racing, but as Quebec's troubled industry plunges deeper into uncertainty, he wonders what the future holds for himself - and his trotters.

A pending court case has led to the indefinite closure of Quebec's harness-racing tracks and, to brace for the financial fallout, the veteran horseman has already dispatched a pair of his prizewinner-producing mares.

"I sent them to the abattoir," he said in an interview at his stable, Bayama Farms Inc., in St-Andre-D'Argenteuil, northwest of Montreal.

The casualties included 11-year-old Pacific Terrific - the mother of Bayama standardbred racehorses Cherry Grove and Charming Ideal.

"It's sad, but I didn't have a choice," he said. "If the industry looked good for the future I wouldn't have had to send them over there. I would have kept them."

The Quebec government and its gaming commission, Loto-Quebec, are engaged in a legal battle with the private company that operates the province's four raceways.

The company, Attractions Hippiques, has accused Loto-Quebec of not living up to its side of a deal over video lottery terminals.

Until the case is heard in Quebec Superior Court, the racecourses will be boarded up indefinitely.

It's a stiff blow to a declining industry that has long been losing gambling bucks to casinos and the ubiquitous video lottery terminals, which are installed at watering holes across Quebec.

Word of the closures scared off racehorse buyers and prompted the cancellation of Quebec's annual October yearling auction.

The cancelled sale not only killed the breeders' primary payday - it left them with stalls full of colts.

Breeders say the offspring of Quebec sires aren't considered fast enough to attract buyers from outside the province.

Even loyal shoppers from American Amish communities are not buying in big numbers this year.

At as much as $2,000 a month to keep racehorses, Quebec's commercial breeders are selling their steeds to the slaughterhouses - which have suddenly become competitive bidders.

"They're selling their horses for meat," Filion said.

Filion, who sold his mares last summer to an abattoir for about $400 each, said the saturated market has also driven prices down, and some owners are now accepting slaughterhouse offers of little more than $100.

"It's sad, I don't want to see that," said Filion, who also sold five standardbreds as riding horses this year.

"I was born in the stall, you know what I mean? I was raised with horses all my life."

The bulk of Canadian horsemeat is exported to France and Japan, where it's considered a delicacy. It is also used to produce pet food.

The horsemeat industry in Canada has grown since the United States banned horse slaughterhouses in 2007, when Canadian producers began importing more animals for slaughter.

From the start of 2008 until the end of November, Canadian abattoirs slaughtered more than 100,000 horses, says Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

The association that represents Canadian standardbred breeders, trainers, owners and racetracks says harness racing is relatively healthy across the country - except in Quebec.

"I'm not very optimistic right now to be quite blunt with you - I'm worried," Standardbred Canada president Ted Smith said about Quebec's racing business.

"They're probably at the crossroads of either going forward, or its demise."

Smith said Standardbred Canada, which is based in Mississauga, Ont., has responded by giving breeders an extra year - until December 2009 - to pay registration fees for Quebec-sired foals.

He said Quebec racetracks have struggled to attract attention in a province flooded with competition from alternative gaming sites.

In provinces like Ontario and British Columbia, most gambling takes place in one-stop hubs, such as casinos and "racinos" - which house horse-racing venues.

Drivers and owners have left Quebec for other jurisdictions, he said.

"The uncertainty is driving people away," Smith said.

In the meantime, Quebec commercial breeders like Rejean Lassonde haven't ruled out shipping their horses to the stockyard.

"Not yet, but I can tell you there's going to be a day when it happens if it continues like it has," said Lassonde, who runs one of the province's largest farms in Le Gardeur, just outside of Montreal.

He said he has about 115 horses.

"One day they could be headed for slaughter, and it won't be just one or two, it will be all of them," Lassonde said.