nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown
@nickhunebrown.bsky.social
4.6K followers 630 following 130 posts
Toronto magazine writer and executive editor @thelocal.to. Here for smart long-form articles and dumb basketball posts. Email [email protected]
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Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
thelocal.to
The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 2d
From the #LocalArchives: The Annex is shrinking. The towers of Crescent Town are exploding. @simonlewsen.bsky.social on a tale of two cities, and how the uneven, illogical densification pattern of the last 50 years created today’s Toronto. thelocal.to/density-the-...
In the Annex and Crescent Town, Two Sides to a Density Dilemma | The Local
The Annex had fewer residents in 2021 than 1971. The towers of Crescent Town had far more. How the uneven, illogical densification pattern of the last 50 years created today’s Toronto.
thelocal.to
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nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 5d
Love to see my @thelocal.to story on Ontario horse racing make the @longreads.com weekly Top 5!
longreads.com
Longreads @longreads.com · 5d
In our Weekly Top 5:

* Subsidizing carnage @thelocal.to
* “Best” American poetry @defector.com
* Frail fibers @theguardian.com
* A crabby savior @theamscho.bsky.social
* Feline fealty @thesunmagazine.bsky.social

longreads.com/2025/10/03/t...
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week - Longreads
Showcasing stories from Nicholas Hune-Brown, Nick Sturm, Samanth Subramanian, Kristin Idaszak, and Sy Safransky.
longreads.com
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Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
wencyleung.bsky.social
Wency Leung @wencyleung.bsky.social · 6d
In light of the encampment clearings at Dufferin Grove Park, it's worth revising this stellar piece by @brendoherty.bsky.social and Nick Kozak in @thelocal.to thelocal.to/toronto-enca...
Another Year, Another Encampment, Another Eviction | The Local
For years, unhoused people like Davit Sesisheili have gone from park to park, moving when the City evicts them. With new data, and reporting and photography that spans years, this is the most comprehe...
thelocal.to
6 12
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
thelocal.to
The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 9d
TDSB chair and former councillor Neethan Shan wins by-election in Scarborough-Rouge Park. thelocal.to/neethan-shan...
Neethan Shan Wins Scarborough–Rouge Park By-Election | The Local
In a crowded field, the longtime local politician was elected back to city council on a call to put Scarborough first.
thelocal.to
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Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
longreads.com
Longreads @longreads.com · 9d
"Speight Rasees collapsed on Nov. 28. The next day, during the first race, two-year-old Mad Chatter had to be euthanized." @nickhunebrown.bsky.social 📸: @chloeellingson.bsky.social @thelocal.to

thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
5 3
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
thelocal.to
The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 10d
“Each day at the track, hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money are paid out to the owners of racehorses, a large percentage of which is government subsidy. Races are run out of contractual obligation, not because there is demand from the public.”
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of…
thelocal.to
1 6 10
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
wencyleung.bsky.social
Wency Leung @wencyleung.bsky.social · 10d
It's a beautiful day to come find books, magazines, and meet the team at @thelocal.to!
taimhuynh.bsky.social
Tai Huynh @taimhuynh.bsky.social · 11d
Come say hi to @thelocal.to at Word on the Street this weekend. We have tote bags, stickers and much more. #WOTS2025
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nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 11d
Come say hi!
thelocal.to
The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 11d
The Local is tabling at Word On the Street festival at David Pecaut square this weekend! Come find us at booth A2 to say hi and grab a pin or buy a tote!
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Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
thelocal.to
The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 11d
"The universe of the track was fascinating, filled with characters that seemed like they’d stepped out of another time." If you're searching for a weekend #longread, look no further than @nickhunebrown.bsky.social's deep-dive into the world of horse racing. thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
1 4 6
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
alexandrakimball.bsky.social
Alexandra Kimball @alexandrakimball.bsky.social · 12d
I don’t think I’ve ever been in a magazine issue as replete with bangers as @thelocal.to’s summer animal issue. @nickhunebrown.bsky.social’s story on the rise and fall of Toronto horseracing deserves the King’s Cup for storytelling. RIP Patches O’Hoolihan. #longreads
lizrenzetti.bsky.social
Liz Renzetti @lizrenzetti.bsky.social · 12d
I admire all of @thelocal.to reporting, and this piece on Woodbine racetrack is a banger. I love horse racing, even though it's a pretty dark sport. @nickhunebrown.bsky.social confronts the darkness, the economics, and the doomy shadow over the backstretch. Great writing too!
nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
A quick 🧵 on my @thelocal.to feature on Woodbine Racetrack, the economics of horse racing, and how to think about racehorses as ideas about animal-human relations shift. #longreads 1/ thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
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nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
No hard deadline, we'll roll out assignments, but we'll start to look at pitches at the end of next week
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
simonhoupt.bsky.social
Simon Houpt @simonhoupt.bsky.social · 12d
This is such a great piece of reporting and writing. As with so much of what @thelocal.to does, it takes something important happening in plain sight that we’re not paying attention to, and helps us appreciate the beauty and troubles underneath the surface.
nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
A quick 🧵 on my @thelocal.to feature on Woodbine Racetrack, the economics of horse racing, and how to think about racehorses as ideas about animal-human relations shift. #longreads 1/ thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
2 2 8
nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
Thanks Simon!
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Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
lizrenzetti.bsky.social
Liz Renzetti @lizrenzetti.bsky.social · 12d
I admire all of @thelocal.to reporting, and this piece on Woodbine racetrack is a banger. I love horse racing, even though it's a pretty dark sport. @nickhunebrown.bsky.social confronts the darkness, the economics, and the doomy shadow over the backstretch. Great writing too!
nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
A quick 🧵 on my @thelocal.to feature on Woodbine Racetrack, the economics of horse racing, and how to think about racehorses as ideas about animal-human relations shift. #longreads 1/ thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
2 7 10
nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
Thanks Liz!
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nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
I spent the summer going back to Woodbine over and over again, often with photographer @chloeellingson.bsky.social, who gorgeously captured life on the backstretch and in the grandstands. Give the piece a read, then read the rest of @thelocal.to's Wild Wild City issue! thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
3 5
nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
As a sport dependent on subsidies, the industry is keenly aware that its existence is relies on public goodwill. It was in that context that a series of confounding racehorse deaths began last fall. 5/
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nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
The Ford government’s 19-year funding agreement guarantees the industry funding far into the future, even as crowds shrink and new betting options threaten to swamp racing, once the only legal form of gambling. 4/
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nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
But the economics of the sport have been collapsing for decades. Quietly, without much attention, a sport once funded by gambling has become dependent on subsidies by governments who fear losing rural voters. 3/
That puts horse racing in a position that’s uncomfortable to defend. Each day at the track, hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money are paid out to the owners of racehorses, a large percentage of which is government subsidy. Races are run out of contractual obligation, not because there is demand from the public for a full slate of Thursday-night racing in late November. When I visited one Friday in May, a total of $445,000 in purse money was up for grabs over eight races; I counted about 50 people in the grandstand. Gambling on horse racing was once a vice that the authorities reluctantly put up with, not least because of the tax revenues it brought in. Today it is the opposite: a failing form of gambling supported by more successful betting options.
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nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
I spent time on the backstretch at Woodbine as a teenager, picking up a few shifts as a hot walker. The place has always seemed like this weird, strangely romantic pocket universe in the middle of Rexdale. 2/
Two exercise riders walk horses on the backstretch at woodbine
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nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 12d
A quick 🧵 on my @thelocal.to feature on Woodbine Racetrack, the economics of horse racing, and how to think about racehorses as ideas about animal-human relations shift. #longreads 1/ thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
2 10 13
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
maxanderson.bsky.social
Max Anderson @maxanderson.bsky.social · 13d
The headline that we're heavily subsidizing the horse racing industry is eye-catching, but this whole piece is well worth reading. A really thoughtful, in depth look at the industry from someone with a personal connection to it. @thelocal.to rules.
thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
1 3 10
Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
thelocal.to
The Local Magazine @thelocal.to · 13d
Once a lucrative gambling business, horse racing in Ontario is now heavily government subsidized. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of horse fatalities at Woodbine raises questions about the future of the sport. thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
1 1 4
nickhunebrown.bsky.social
Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 13d
Call for pitches: we're assigning for @thelocal.to's winter issue. Going back to our roots with a healthcare issue, and specifically interested in stories about privatization and places where money and health collide. Features, essays, first-person, etc, starting at 0.75 cents/word. [email protected]
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Reposted by Nick Hune-Brown
wencyleung.bsky.social
Wency Leung @wencyleung.bsky.social · 13d
When @nickhunebrown.bsky.social writes, he doesn't give you a story. He takes you on a JOURNEY.

Brilliant piece and photos by @chloeellingson.bsky.social from @thelocal.to
thelocal.to/breakdown-at...
Breakdown at the Racetrack | The Local
Once a lucrative gambling business, Ontario's horse racing industry is now heavily subsidized by the government. As gamblers turn to online gaming, and ideas about animal welfare shift, a cluster of f...
thelocal.to
6 10