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The slot machines won’t be pulled out of Flamboro Downs this month after all.

A new five-year deal between the racetrack and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation — announced Saturday — will replace their existing lease agreement, which expires on March 31.

The slot machines won’t be pulled out of Flamboro Downs this month after all. A new five-year deal between the racetrack and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation — announced Saturday.

“The end of this month was the deadline and so this gives not only our staff comfort, but also our guests and our corporation and investors, to know we’ll be continuing operating,” said Howard Blank, spokesperson for the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, operator of Flamboro Downs.

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The news follows an announcement made by Premier Kathleen Wynne on Friday that horse racing will resume this year at six tracks across the province, thanks to secured transition funding agreements.

The future of horse racing is still up in the air at Flamboro Downs, which has not yet secured a transition agreement with the province.

But Hamilton Councillor Sam Merulla said he believes it’s only a matter of time before that happens.

The Great Canadian Gaming Corporation said in a statement Saturday that it believes the confirmed continuation of OLG slots at the tracks will be helpful in further discussions with the province to secure the horse racing funding.

TOPIC: The casino debate

Georgian Downs, another track operated by Great Canadian Gaming, has also entered into an agreement in principle with the OLG to continue their slots program.

It has been a tumultuous time for the horse racing industry after the Dalton McGuinty government announced last year it planned to cancel the $345-million-a-year share of slot machine revenues that went to tracks.

Flamborough MPP Ted McMeekin conceded recently that the budget announcement created “doom and gloom” about the horse racing industry.

But Flamborough Councillor Robert Pasuta said this latest news is encouraging for the local rural community.

Pasuta also said the announcement “makes Flamboro officially viable” for a casino.

Council declared Flamboro Downs the preferred location for a casino (should the city get one) in February, unless it could be proved unviable.

The OLG announcement “supports our vision,” Pasuta said. “It shows right now that everyone is supporting our first choice: Flamboro Downs and the Flamboro slots.”

OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti said Sunday that this agreement does “not necessarily” rule out the possibility of a downtown casino.

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That decision will depend on the Request for Proposal process to secure a private sector operator.

“All this does mean that we (the slots) are legally there past March 31, 2013,” Bitonti said.

For now, Councillor Sam Merulla said he “applauds the OLG for endorsing our original position.”

“From my perspective, it (the casino debate) should be over and I look forward to it being over,” he said.

Despite this weekend’s good news, the local horse racing industry will still be shrinking.

“The reality is, the industry is going to be smaller than it was and we’ve said that all along … but there’s room in Ontario for horse racing and health care and education,” Wynne said Friday.

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Pasuta said he expects about two-thirds of the horse racing industry will survive.

MORE: City has options if slot revenues were to disappear

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