Canada's horseracing industry says it is being hollowed out by a tax fight it cannot win under current law. Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack, the centre of Canadian thoroughbred racing, housed about 1,900 horses three years ago; the number is now around 1,600 and dropping, CP24 reported on October 17.
The pull is coming from south of the border. The U.S. 'One Big Beautiful Bill' allows buyers to write off 100 per cent of a racehorse's purchase price — a US$300,000 broodmare, for example, can be fully deducted. In Canada, Section 31 of the Income Tax Act caps the equivalent write-off at $17,500, a fraction of a competitive racehorse's cost.
Industry voices describe the U.S. provision as a magnet for Canadian money. Mark Halloran of the Canuck Racing Club called it a big magnet pulling capital out of the country, and breeder Glenn Sikura of King City was heading to Kentucky this weekend to sell three Canadian thoroughbreds into the U.S. market.
The Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario used the October 17 report to urge its members to contact their MPs and press for Section 31's repeal, arguing the cap puts Canadian owners and breeders at a structural disadvantage every time a horse changes hands.
For Woodbine, the arithmetic is visible in the stable count: every horse that follows the tax break south takes training fees, jobs and race-day fields with it.
