Canada’s horse racing industry prepares for the worst from U.S. tariffs

Experts in the horse racing industry say U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs will cripple, and inevitably destroy their livelihood.

David Anderson, president of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, knows first-hand how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the horse racing industry.

“There’s a very good chance of it folding,” he said.

Anderson operates one of Canada’s best known thoroughbred and standardbred breeding operations right here in Ontario.

If Trump’s tariffs go through as planned on April 2, it could be devastating.

“In Ontario alone, the horse industry represents approximately 25,000 jobs,” Anderson said. “The economic impact is upwards to $2 billion.”

He said that if this continues, he doesn’t see the industry continuing.

Bulldog Hanover is the fastest harness racing horse in history from Canada and his stud fee is $15,000.

With Trump tariffs, that could almost double.

According to James Culic of Fort Erie Race Track, last year alone the amount of thoroughbred and yearlings sold to American race tracks totaled $7.6 million.

“There’s a much bigger market in the States,” Culic said. “If you add in standardbred horses, that was another 110, that takes us up to $12 million worth of horses bred right here in Ontario that were sold to farms and race tracks in America.”

He says this is due to the much bigger market in the United States.

“A lot of Ontario horse farms, they might sell upwards of 80 per cent of their horses to American racetracks.”

Culic continues to say that this helps their bottom line, so they can continue to support facilities, such as the Fort Erie Race Track.

He says they will continue to prepare for the worst and hope for the best as April 2, inches closer.

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