Challenges Met, Woodbine set for '25, Correction on Field Size

The 69th Thoroughbred season at Woodbine racetrack marked the first full year for Michael Copeland as CEO of Woodbine Entertainment, taking the reins from Jim Lawson.

Copeland was, unfortunately, met with one of the most difficult years in the history of the Rexdale track. From the unprecedented rainstorm that led to the postponement of the August 17 King’s Plate to the series of breakdowns that rocked Woodbine in November, there were significant challenges.

In addition, the year ended with the wagering numbers being down for the third successive year and a restless community of horse people who await a renewed contract between its Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and Woodbine.

Scroll to continue with content

“It was a mixed bag,” said Copeland about the 2024 racing season. “There were things we would have liked to have played out differently last year, most importantly with regards to horse fatalities and human safety. We pride ourselves on our safety record and it is our number-one priority.”

In a span of a month from late October into November, a total of 15 musculoskeletal injuries occurred, with nine leading to euthanasia. When three horses broke down on Saturday, November 9, Woodbine acted quickly by canceling the latter half of the card as well as the following day’s racing. The track brought in Tapeta experts and Juan Meza, a longtime track superintendent from California, to assist Woodbine’s track team.

“We responded [to the breakdowns] immediately and aggressively. We are confident that this is a very safe place to race. At the same time, we cannot become complacent and must always be looking for ways to improve safety as well as continue to talk with our horse people. We have been looking at different ways to maintain the surface with regards to scheduling and processes.”

Currently the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which implemented several entry rules following the incidents, is doing an investigation on the breakdowns at Woodbine. In a statement the AGCO said, “In response to a concerning number of catastrophic equine injuries in November, the AGCO directed Woodbine Racetrack to implement a series of evidenced-based measures intended to reduce the risk to racehorses.

“The decision to implement additional safety measures was driven by the need to prioritize horse safety while we continue to review the circumstances that led to these tragic events. That work is still underway and so the AGCO has no additional comments to make at this time. The measures will remain in place until further notice.”

The 165th King’s Plate was washed away during an unprecedented heavy rainstorm that flooded Toronto and halted the card after five races. All signs pointed to the day being a big one for fans, horse people and the track, especially since the 2023 Plate set a record for the day with $18.1 million in wagering.

“The King’s Plate was disappointing,” said Copeland. “A lot of people really leaned in to make it an exceptional day and bigger and better than the previous year. It would have been huge. Our team rallied to make it special on the [following] Friday and I think it was a really good day.”

There was mixed reaction on the Plate being held the following Friday afternoon, but Woodbine cited the challenge of going up against a strong Travers Stakes day card at Saratoga on the Saturday. Wagering on the day was $11.6 million but over the three-day weekend, August 23-25, the total was $24.6 million. The same three-day week in 2023 without the Plate handled $13.6 million.

The disappointing drop in Plate wagering had a negative impact on the year-end numbers. However, Copeland noted that the all-sources wagering total was the third highest in Woodbine history.

“Wagering was down five to ten percent in various categories for a variety of reasons, but it should be noted that wagering was down across North America. Still, our wagering was the third highest we have ever had. We had two strong years coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s down relative to those years. We are dependent on other tracks for their wagering activity and one thing we want to work on is how to mitigate that so we are not as dependent on those other tracks.”

2024 vs 2023 Woodbine Wagering:

All sources: $552,615,329.38 vs. $613,125,180.53 (down 9.9%)

Ontario: $74,159,942.25 vs. $81,872,147.59 (down 9.4%)

CDN Remotes: $16,638,170.40 vs. $18,680,087.80

Foreign Remotes: $461,817,216.73 vs. $512,572,945.14

Field size: 8.1 vs. 8.2

# of cards: 127 vs. 128

# of Races: 1,160 vs. 1,180

Last Seven Years (there are no higher totals before 2018)

2022 $621M

2021 $505M

2020 $462M

2019 $516M

2018 $533M

“We did a lot of good things last year. We put on a big race meet and it was very well done. I think we are in good shape going forward.”

The arrival of on-line gaming and sports betting in Ontario has also likely taken wagering dollars away from racing. With $63 billion in wagering and $2.4 billion in gaming revenue, the second year of Ontario’s igaming market is more than 70% bigger than the first.

Woodbine has been trying to get pari-mutuel wagering on its products on sports betting platforms but so far, it is only has an agreement with bet365.

“One thing we learned is that adding a product such as pari-mutuel wagering to one of these betting sites is quite complicated. From a technical standpoint we have a very good development team who identified a process in which the integration can be done easier. That still has taken a bit of time. We have also had our hands tied by not being able to advertise racing on these sites and we are working with the government to loosen those regulations. But 100 percent we will be on more sports betting sites this year.”

Another challenge has been the rapid growth in popularity of online gaming, taking away from the number of people attending the on-site casino at Woodbine. Lawson and now Copeland and Ontario Racing continue to try to have historical racing machines legalized to be introduced at the track as well as on-track sportsbooks. So far, there has been little progress.

Aside from wagering, horse population has also been a problem across North America, but Ontario’s field size has held steady and there are signs that the foal crop is on the way up.

A report from the BloodHorse noted that the success of the Mare Purchase Program developed through the Ontario Thoroughbred Improvement Program has brought in over 300 mares to Ontario to foal in the last three years. It is clear that more owners are needed to buy the horses, especially since so many big stables such as Sam-Son and Windhaven having left the business. The cost of owning a racehorse continues to increase, which is made worse by the lack of a significant tax break for owners as is done in the US, making a purse increase a necessity.

“We want owners to make money and it is important for us to be in a position one day to raise purses. We hope that owners want to race at Woodbine for the facilities, the safety and the owner experience. And we will continue to work on improving the owner experience.”

A section of the old Marshall turf course (now E.P. Taylor turf course) on the backstretch will be replaced, with construction to begin this fall and continue through 2026. “The turf course is old and needs to be replaced. We will try to minimize the impact it will have on this year’s and next year’s turf seasons,” said Copeland. Woodbine will make use of its inner turf course during the refurbishing of the main turf.

The most immediate issue facing Woodbine in the early days of the new year is renewing the contract with the HBPA, which expires at the end of March. There are 129 racing dates noted on the AGCO racing calendar for Woodbine in 2025.

“We are in talks with the HBPA right now. The number of racing dates is not set in stone, but we should have an agreement soon.”

What Copeland and his team want horse people to know is that they are working towards the future while trying to maintain racing today.

“Woodbine is a corporate entity that exists to support the Ontario racing industry. Everything is done to create a strong and sustainable industry. We have a real breadth of activities that go on here. We have to invest and we have to tighten the belt and do things with a vision of tomorrow, but at the same time ensure there is an industry for tomorrow. My time is spent on a lot of things that will have a direct correlation to a race or a race meeting; it’s all tied into racing. Racing is the number one reason we are here.”