In 2017, harness racing in the United States saw a 4.39% decline in wagering compared to the previous year.  Thus far in 2018, the number for total handle is virtually flat, which struck me as odd, because thus far The Meadowlands, the biggest driver of handle in harness racing, has contested seven fewer days of racing than the first two months in 2017. Taking a closer look at the numbers, The Meadowlands has handled $33.25 Million on 13 racing programs compared to $48.31 Million on 20 racing programs in 2017.  While on the surface that actually means the average per-card handle in 2018 is higher than one year ago, it is important to note that at this time last year The Meadowlands had contested four Thursday night programs, which obviously drives the average handle down.  They have not raced a Thursday card this year.  There has been $15 Million less wagered on The Meadowlands the first two months this year and at this time last year, the $48.31 Million wagered on their product accounted for over 23% of the total handle in harness racing.  Given that information, how is handle virtually flat ($206.7 Million vs. $206.3 Million) year over year in harness racing?  The answer comes from a surprising place . . . Yonkers Raceway. At this time last year, Yonkers Raceway had contested 39 racing programs, with a total handle of $17.26 Million.  That equates to $442,000 per racing program.  This year, Yonkers Raceway has contested 37 racing programs with total handle of $28.36 Million, or $766,000 per racing program. The $11.1 Million increase offsets nearly 75% of The Meadowlands impact, which is pretty remarkable. The handle at Yonkers Raceway this year is up 64.3% compared to last year and the average handle per racing program is up 73.2%.  That’s ridiculous.  Even if you remove the difference of the like Sundays (French commingled pools) year-over-year, which is $2.45 Million of the increase, the handle for the rest of the programs is still up 48.3%. Aside from Sundays, the Monday night performance has been quite noticeable.  In fact, total handle on the eight Monday programs this year is $6,313,303, more than double the $3,036,924 wagered on the eight Monday programs last year. There have been several major changes at the half-mile oval in the past six months.  The finish line has been moved up the stretch, starting the race at a point that gives horses from the far outside a better chance, as opposed to where the old finish line was, virtually at the edge of the first turn.  Secondly, Yonkers removed the passing lane, which has clearly resulted in more aggressive drives and more movement in their races.  It’s undeniable to anyone who has been watching.  Alex Dadoyan, Executive Director of the Standardbred Owners Association of New York, confirmed these moves as having a positive impact on handle performance, but noted it goes beyond that as well, specifically for the Monday Performance.  “We have a deal in place with TVG this year to show Yonkers racing on Monday and Tuesdays and handle through TVG has been way up,” said Dadoyan.  “We’re also doing the free programs online for Mondays which I think is a big thing to help gain interest and grow a following.”  He also added that Cammie Haughton, the Director of Racing, staggering post times to stay off other signals is also playing a role in the increases. With the growing momentum Yonkers is experiencing and the fact that they receive a large subsidy from slot machine revenue purses, they are in a unique position in the industry right now.  It would be interesting to see what would happen if they established a platform of low-takeout rates moving forward.  I think it would be a great test and Yonkers is in a perfect position to try it right now.  They race enough where the takeout can have a faster impact than The Meadowlands, which races twice per week, and they would be viewed by the bettors as a leader in the industry recognizing growth.  I truly believe harness players would embrace the Yonkers product in that scenario.  It’s entirely possible that such an experiment could lead to another spike in handle and perhaps Yonkers surpassing $1 Million per racing program could become a regular thing. I don’t see a correlation between Yonkers’ increases and The Meadowlands racing fewer dates, mainly because the biggest increases at Yonkers are being realized on days and nights that The Meadowlands does not race.  I don’t believe that simply because The Meadowlands has raced seven fewer days, people are betting those dollars on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Yonkers. I legitimately believe Yonkers is onto something with the changes they have implemented and they have an opportunity to expand upon those changes by taking a look at a takeout reduction plan which, in my opinion, would continue to grow the increases that Yonkers is seeing. There are other ideas that Yonkers can implement to continue their momentum.  Initially, I would recommend seeding a pool, either the Pick 4 or Pick 5, which ironically has the same impact as reducing the takeout rate for the wager, hence why those pools do so well when seeded. It doesn’t have to be a ton of money, perhaps $10,000, which is enough to attract the attention of the bettors.  Yonkers is on a roll and I wouldn’t stop if I were them.  I would continue to implement changes that would be viewed as favorable to the betting public and continue to build on this momentum and the growth they are seeing.  It could be a huge year for Yonkers Raceway.