Stanley Sadinsky Appointed Chair of Panel to Review Ontario's Horse Racing Industry

Photo by Daniel Chodos

Professor Emeritus Stanley Sadinsky outside Macdonald Hall in September 2007, where he has returned to teach Remedies in the fall term.

In July 2007, the Government of Ontario appointed Professor Emeritus Stanley "Sonny" Sadinsky, Q.C., Artsci ‘60, Law ‘63, as the chair of a panel to develop a new strategic plan for the province's horse racing industry.

The three-member review panel was put together by Ontario's Ministry of Government Services to look at horse racing - the second largest industry in rural Ontario - and to make recommendations with respect to the direction that it should go in the future. "There have been some very important developments and changes within the industry as a whole over the past 10 years," said Sadinsky. "And I think the government wants to get a perspective on where the horse racing industry sits in the broader entertainment-gambling environment."

The panel will trace the development of horse racing over the past decade and identify its challenges and opportunities in the years to come by consulting with industry stakeholders, government officials and members of the public.

Sadinsky felt honoured to be a part of such a highly important and influential panel, which includes former Federal Cabinet Member Jane Stewart and the former Executive Director of the Ontario Racing Commission and standardbred horse judge William McDonnell. "We will be creating a blueprint for the government to consider and follow which will take the industry forward in a very productive way," said Sadinsky.

Sadinsky, who throughout his career has served on a number of tribunals, committees and review panels, including the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and the Canadian Judicial Council, spent parts of 14 years as a member of the Ontario Racing Commission. In 1994, he was named its Chair.

As a professor at Queen's Law in 1998, Sadinsky drew on his experience as Chair of the Racing Commission and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation to create and co-teach Canada's first Gaming Law course.

Sadinsky, who retired from Queen's Law in 2002 after a 31-year academic career, has returned to teach Remedies in the 2007 fall term.

For more information about Professor Sadinsky's position on the horse racing review panel, see  http://www.gov.on.ca/MGS/en/News/158308.html.