The impending closure of Kawartha Downs - which no longer has harness racing and soon will no longer have any slot machines - might've been averted if the Downs had accepted "a generous offer" from the Ontario government, says Labour Minister Laurie Scott.

But Orazio Valente, the general manager of the Kawartha Downs, says the offer was so meagre it would have sunk the track financially.

The government had offered to allow the Downs to keep 150 of its nearly 500 slot machines, wrote Scott, the MPP for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock riding that includes Fraserville, in a statement to The Examiner on Friday evening.

Scott wasn't available for an interview Friday.

But she wrote in her statement that the government's offer would have also included "a generous lease payment" to help the Downs and it all would have "preserved the jobs locally" - but the Downs turned it all down.

Valente said they would have needed 250 slot machines - half of their full complement - to make a go, but the government was unwilling to offer more than 150.

That wouldn't generate enough foot traffic to cover costs such as the wages of 30 food and beverage workers, Valente said, plus utility bills, rent and property taxes for a mostly-empty building.

Regarding the "generous lease payment": Valente says it wasn't so generous at all.

Under the proposed deal, Valente says, Great Canadian Gaming Corp. would have operated both the new casino in Peterborough and the remaining slots at the Downs (although Great Canadian Gaming wasn't a party to the discussions).

The "lease payment" would have been the rent Great Canadian Gaming would have continued to pay the Downs - but greatly reduced from the rent it currently pays, according to Valente.

When asked whether accepting the offer would have sunk the business, Valente answers this way: "It's hard to draw any other conclusion. You can't negotiate basic math."

The discussions between the government and the Downs arrive at the last minute.

The Shorelines Casino Peterborough is about to open, which would replace the Slots at Kawartha Downs, which would set forward "a chain reaction" that will close the Downs, Valente said.

Yet there was still no word on Friday when exactly the new Shorelines Casino Peterborough will open - which leaves workers at the Downs wondering how much longer they'll still have jobs.

Harness racing at the Downs ended as of last weekend and the slot machines in the building are all being removed, many of them destined for Peterborough.

No more harness racing and no more slots will mean the facility is "mothballed," Valente said.

"We will be closing shortly after the casino (in Peterborough) opens," he said.

Construction on Shorelines Casino Peterborough, at Crawford Dr. and The Parkway, started more than a year ago in early September 2017.

The casino's website states that grand opening information is coming soon.

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Yet no details were available Friday from the operator of the casino, British Columbia-based Great Canadian Gaming.

Last weekend's harness races could be the last races ever: Kawartha Downs wasn't offered the chance to apply for more races for next season, Valente said.

Other tracks were given horse racing contract extensions for another couple of years, he said - but not the Downs, which is in receivership.

Scott writes in her statement that the offer was Premier Doug Ford's effort to make good on a campaign promise to support Ontario horse racing.

The government extended the deadline twice for Kawartha Downs to accept the offer, Scott added - but still it was turned down.

"Our government has clearly demonstrated that it remains committed to supporting the horse race industry in Ontario," Scott wrote.

But Valente says there was no opportunity to discuss the matter with the government:

"It was take it or leave it."

The Ford government may be trying to fulfil a campaign promise to support horse racing, Valente said, but this deal would not have saved the Fraserville racetrack.

"On a lot of other files, they've shown their resolve," Valente said of the government. "But that's not happening on this file."