Fort Erie Racetrack’s string of 111 consecutive years of live horse racing is in danger of coming to an end.

The track, which opened its gates in 1897, indicated yesterday in a media release through owner Nordic Gaming Corporation, that there is no guarantee of thoroughbred racing next year. The announcement followed a meeting with 190 employees connected with racing.

“While Nordic will pursue every effort to try and find a way to continue racing in 2009, there are regulatory requirements that the company must comply with, thus these employees were advised that their employment was being terminated, effective March 31, 2009,” Nordic said in a statement. “This decision has been a difficult one for the company; one which Nordic has delayed for several years.”

Nordic claims to have lost $4 million to $7 million annually for the last four years. A $300 million project unveiled in May 2007, and intended to begin ground-breaking in 2009, has been put on indefinite hold. The plan included commercial/residential development bordering the track and improvements to the backstretch and grandstand.

“We’ve been working on this for a couple of years now and we were hoping the province would make some sort of a commitment prior to this happening,” Fort Erie mayor Doug Martin said. “Obviously, Nordic has to do what they have to do under the legislation act regarding employee/employer relationship. We will continue to pursue discussions with the (provincial) government to see exactly what they’re going to do. They keep telling us that they want to sit down and talk, but it’s been two years.”

The issue of whether or not the track will continue with slot machines and/or simulcast wagering on racing from other tracks in the new year is uncertain. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation introduced slots at racetracks in December 1998 to stimulate business, but on the proviso of conducting racing. Track operators and their horsemen receive 10 percent apiece from slot revenues.

Sue Leslie, president of the Ontario Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which is the horsemen’s union, said it was “a sad, sad day for thoroughbred horse racing in Ontario and for all those whose livelihood depended on Fort Erie Racetrack.”

The decision impacts the track’s most prominent race, the Prince of Wales Stakes, the middle jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, since its origin in 1959.