Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Odds On Racing's

Personality of the Month
for May 2007

Nick Eaves

In December of 2006 Woodbine Entertainment announced the appointment of Nick Eaves to President and Cheif Operating Officer of the racing and gambling complex in Ontario.

Eaves, 38 had been with the WEG over 12 years and was responsible for the opening of the teletheatres and slot machines at both Mohawk and Woodbine raceways, and has been extremely innovative when

Nick Eaves

it comes to initiating the placement of slots and Internet wagering at these Ontario-based venues.

Eaves began in business by running his own painting companyn duriing his college years, and through a close friend, became invovled in the running of an off track parlor.

"I hadn't been exposed to racing that much prior to joining the Woodbine group back in 1994," Eaves said. "I had been to Western Fair Raceway in London where I was going to school and to Greenwood in Toronto, but I knew very little about horse racing."

It was a business that he "immediately loved," Eaves added.

In 1996 Eaves was working at Woodbine when the Ontario government approved slots at the racetracks. He immediately became involved with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation on behalf of the racetrack in order to get a better understanding of what slots were going to mean for the racetracks. That became his focus for the next several years and ultimately provided him with the background to assume his new role at WEG last year.

Eaves was quoted in March 2007 edition of The Harness Edge magazine as saying: "We have to provide a fantastic product to today's customer and make sure we're putting on the best racing and that our restaurants are as good as they can be and our facilities are as clean as they can be and that our communications are as succinct as they can be. We're focused on that and I think we're doing a really good job."

He added that: "Where the business goes and how it's constituted, what the challenges and opportunities are will shape how this company needs to be structured. That's the same for every racetrack in North America.