Harness: Time for a later post time on Hambletonian Day?

Another Hambletonian Day has come and gone and the industry should be quite pleased with the overall success of the day. There were plenty of exciting races, sensational performances, strong handle figures and exposure to a national audience.

Each year the vested interests analyze the day and make determinations as to what changes, if any, could or should be made as the event moves forward. I always do the same and while there isn't much I would change about the day, it may be time to at least consider one significant change, a later post time.

First and foremost, it was always written into the contract of the Hambletonian that the race must be contested under daylight, which is why the Hambletonian Day card remains the only day of afternoon racing at The Meadowlands each year. Obviously this clause is within a contract between the Hambletonian Society and The Meadowlands and could be changed if both parties agreed.

To be clear, I am not advocating for a 7:00 P.M. start time for the racing program. But I think the time has come to explore the potential of a twilight start time to the event. In years past, this would have been a non-starter due to the prospects of commingling pools with European interests for the event as well as the handle that is produced in European separate-pool wagering. But it seems that European interest, at least from a betting standpoint, has waned somewhat.

The commingling into the Meadowlands pools has been faced with a series of challenges over the years. In addition, the European wagering through French PMU, LeTrot and the Scandinavian countries that reached a peak of $2.88 Million in 2011 has dropped nearly 75% to just over $750,000 in 2020 (the 2021 figures are not available yet). A once promising and innovative concept seems to be struggling. That's not to say that $750,000 is a small amount of money, but when you factor in how much that is worth to The Meadowlands and the Hambletonian Society, including the fact that European handle on the event has dropped 75% from its peak and 50% since 2017, I am not sure it's enough of a reason to keep the event during the daytime.

What is the other drawback of contesting these races in the daytime? They are up against the most wagered-upon thoroughbred meet based on average daily handle in the form of Saratoga Race Course. Even worse, it is their second-highest handling day of the year, Whitney Day. Nobody is smart enough to know exactly how much Saratoga impacts The Meadowlands as they go head to head, being they are two different breeds. But, there are plenty of bettors, like myself, who wager on both products.

While it is true that Del Mar would become the competition if Hambletonian Day post time were later in the day, this year Saratoga's Whitney Day card produced a handle of $36.9 million. In addition, Gulfstream Park produced $7.9 million in handle. That is $44.8 million in horse racing betting dollars not available to The Meadowlands. Del Mar’s handle was $16.6 Million. There's no comparison. Also, Southern California thoroughbred racing has been struggling the past two years and while Del Mar has traditionally been immune to those struggles, its meet is down to a four-card-per-week schedule and field size has also been impacted.

I think exploring the prospect of a start time somewhere in the 5:00 PM hour is worth at least a discussion for Hambletonian Day. The competition from Saratoga becomes four races instead of 12. In addition, The Hambletonian Oaks and Hambletonian Final are contested long after Saratoga concludes, whereas now, they were both contested within 30 minutes of the Whitney Stakes itself. While it did provide exposure to a national audience during Saratoga's televised broadcast on Fox Sports, I am not certain those watching downloaded the Hambletonian Day past performances and wagered just because the race was shown as part of the Saratoga presentation.

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The opposing viewpoint is that Saratoga is thoroughbred racing and doesn’t impact standardbred racing at The Meadowlands. I don't believe that to be true. I believe there are many people, like myself, who wager on both products, and having to bounce back and forth between both cards all afternoon is an annoyance.

I also think it is important to point out that the Hambletonian Day concept was created at a time before there was simulcast wagering and certainly before you could sit in your own home and wager on your phone or other mobile device. It was a day that was created for those at the racetrack. If those in control of this event believe that remains the most important aspect of Hambletonian Day, then I respect that belief. But there is a business aspect to this day in 2021 that did not exist in 1931 or 1981. I think the time has come to explore the possibility that a later start time could result in more handle and more revenue.

In 1981, the first year The Hambletonian was held at The Meadowlands, the wagering for the day totaled $3.3 million, all of which took place on-track. As recently as 1997, of the $6.1 Million wagered, 50 percent of that money was sent through the windows at The Meadowlands. Total handle reached an all-time high in 2005 of just over $9 million, with $3.4 million being wagered at The Meadowlands itself. But the last eight editions of the historic event have taken place in the new and downsized Meadowlands grandstand. On-track handle is now just $1 million and in 2019 (the last year the event took place with no COVID impact), that on-track handle accounted for just 14% of the total handle.

While I certainly appreciate the rich history and tradition of this great day and also recognize that Hambletonian Day is not something that is broken and needs to be fixed, I do believe that the time has come that this conversation can take place. It's possible there is an avenue to make the greatest day in harness racing even greater.