The switch by Assiniboia Downs from Sunday racing to Wednesday racing has proven to be an unqualified success.  The track showed a huge 29.2 per race increase in handle despite five fewer race days.  The 63-day meet ended Sunday. The mutuel handle increased $2 million. This year’s handle was $8.8 million compared to last year’s $6.8 million. 

 

“We were confident we would see an increase,” general manager Sharon Gulyas said, “but this definitely exceeded our expectations.”

 

Assiniboia Downs changed from Sunday racing to Wednesday racing to attract more wagering from bettors at other North American tracks.  There is less competition for the wagering dollar on Wednesday compared to Sundays. This year’s schedule was Wednesday-Friday-Saturday compared to last year’s Friday-Saturday-Sunday. For example, last Wednesday’s handle was $238,000 compared to an average Sunday handle last year of $92,000. Such increases in the industry are virtually unheard of, especially in these more difficult economic times.  U.S. tracks have generally reported declines in handle, some as substantial as 25 per cent.

 

Patron surveys have shown the majority of those who attended on Sundays in previous years have been coming on Wednesdays and many said they found it “better than expected.” Local bettors have appreciated the larger pools, too, because that has meant larger payoffs.  One large bettor said he was betting up to $200 on a horse this season at the Downs compared to only $50 last year when the pools were smaller.

 

Live racing may be over but big-league racing from major race tracks in North America and Australia continues every single day in the Race Book at the race track, at off-track betting outlets and at home on cable TV (Shaw 87, MTS 179-180). 

 

Special dining themes on Thursday nights, daily VLT play and regular trade shows, including the very popular “Scattered Seeds” show in October and the “Love & Romance Expo” in November will add to the entertainment.

 

The “horseplayer of the year” has yet to be crowned.  That person will earn a trip to Las Vegas to compete in a rich horseplayer contest. 

 

The biggest and richest racing event of the year, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships with $25.5 million in purse money, will be run Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7 from Santa Anita race track in California.

 

 

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