Significant tariffs threatened by the U.S. government, with possible reciprocal tariffs to follow from the Canadian government, pose a serious threat to the Ontario horse racing industry. The issue is incredibly fluid and, so far, lacks concrete information. Ontario Racing is providing this information page linking to strong industry information sources to try to help you stay up to date. U.S. tariffs are expected to be imposed on April 2. We will update this page when we have more information.
First, we direct you to our story about how tariffs would be devastating to Ontario horse breeders and other industry participants:
Canadian government accepting submissions to determine reciprocal tariffs
There is no doubt reciprocal Canadian tariffs that include the horse racing industry will be hugely damaging to the Ontario sector. The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) has prepared an information page about how to make a submission to government requesting that the horse racing industry be exempt from Canadian tariffs. The CTHS page includes a link to the federal government form
How tariffs may be applied at the border
Again, the situation is fluid, but both the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) in the U.S. and the CTHS have done an excellent job gathering facts.
The CTHS consulted the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, along with border services, about how tariffs will likely be applied to the horse racing industry. That information can be found on the main page of the CTHS website by scrolling down past the “Canadian tariff countermeasures update” notice
The American Horse Council also has a detailed information page about tariffs. That information can be found on Standardbred Canada's website here:
Media coverage of how tariffs may impact the horse racing industry
Since this is a fluid issue, please be conscious of publishing dates when reading articles. The most recent articles are more likely to contain the most current information. We present these links for background and additional information.
Ontario Racing
March 19: Fear is rising that tariffs will decimate Ontario’s horse racing industry
Canadian Press
March 20: Top Canadian breeder says U.S. tariffs could cripple horse-racing industry
Thoroughbred Daily News
March 19: Canadian owner-breeder Dave Anderson joins TDN Writers’ Room podcast
March 14: Update by NTA’s Rooney on threatened U.S.-Canada tariffs
March 13: Threatened U.S.-Canada tariffs could ‘cripple’ Canadian breeding industry
March 12: How will tariffs against Canada affect horse racing? Perhaps substantially
BloodHorse
March 14: Canadian breeders shaken by tariff threats
Paulick Report
March 24: Keeping Pace: Tariffs in racing is a war no side wants to wage
March 12: How could U.S./Canadian tariffs impact the thoroughbred industry?
Feb. 21: How could promised tariffs impact horse owners?
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