Toronto city council has approved $120 million in tax breaks to a company that says it plans to transform Woodbine Racetrack into a billion-dollar entertainment centre.

Council hopes three priority neighbourhoods in the northwest end of the city will benefit from the project.

Woodbine Live wants to build an entertainment complex on Rexdale Boulevard that includes nightclubs, a hotel and a theatre to complement the horse racing track and slot machines.

"This is going to be a mini Walt Disney World in Rexdale," said area councillor Rob Ford. "It's going to attract people from all over the world when they come to Toronto."

The project is expected to create almost 10,000 jobs and the company has committed to hiring locally.

"On top of the typical jobs that may be a part of any development project, we are actually going to be offering apprenticeship programs," said lawyer Stephen Diamond, who represents Woodbine Live.

Mayor David Miller said it was a historic agreement that will create jobs for people who live in the nearby neighbourhoods of Jane and Finch, Rexdale and Weston-Mount Dennis.

"It's a chance to build great neighbourhoods and to make sure that the people who live in those neighbourhoods get the benefit of this billion-dollar investment by training people for the jobs," said Miller.

The $350-million project will cover 10 hectares and is expected to take two years to complete.