Later start to Woodbine meet already proving beneficial

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine’s 63rd season of Thoroughbred racing kicks off Saturday afternoon, a week later than usual. The late start has appeared to pay off, with last weekend’s blast of winter weather having forced the cancellation of training on both Sunday and Monday.

Jim Lawson, Woodbine’s chief executive officer, said weather wasn’t a reason to start later in April this season, but that the scheduling change has worked out this year.

“It wasn’t really an April weather factor, but as it turns out, it has been a factor,” he said. “It was more to do with increasingly slow starts because of people wanting to stay in Florida a little bit longer, or going to Keeneland. Horses just slowly trail up here.”

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With the later start to the meet, Woodbine also will run a week later than last season, with closing day set for Dec. 16.

Lawson estimated there are 1,500 to 1,600 horses on the grounds, slightly fewer than at the same time last year. Lawson added that horse supply will be a challenge for Woodbine in 2018.

“We’re going to struggle with horse supply,” he said. “We’re between 1,500 and 1,600 horses today, but we need a lot more to make 133 days of racing work.”

The meet is once again highlighted by the 159th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate on June 30. The Queen’s Plate was moved from a Sunday to a Saturday this year, a change that was partly driven by the success seen from moving the Woodbine Mile and Canadian International cards from Sundays to Saturdays in recent years.

“The last couple of years we have done better wagering on a Saturday,” Lawson said.

Woodbine also will hold a Queen’s Plate festival again this year, which is part of an effort to grow home-market wagering. Woodbine has seen all-sources handle increases for the last three seasons, but Lawson noted those increases have been largely driven by remote wagering, particularly from the United States.

“We’re focused on our U.S. marketing, and the rebranding I think is helping,” he said. “The difficult news is home-market wagering continues to be challenged in the province of Ontario. There’s so much competition from online gambling, and even offshore gambling, that we’re restricted in our growth in Ontario and we’re feeling it. It shrunk last year.”

Woodbine has put together a robust events schedule this year, which includes a Kentucky Derby Day party, morning workout events, and backstretch tours. Lawson said the goal with these new events is to increase interest in the sport in the Toronto area.

“One of the strengths of horse racing is people love horses,” he said. “A big part of our focus is when we get people out, expose them to our horses and expose them to our jockeys. We have backstretch opportunities, paddock tours, and starting-gate opportunities. I’m confident we’re doing a lot of right things, and, hopefully, it results in progress in our attendance and our wagering.”

After Standardbred racing moved from Woodbine to Mohawk full time earlier this month, construction began on the new inner turf course. Lawson said he was hopeful fans will see a preview of what the course will look like during Queen’s Plate weekend.

“Our goal is to have some turf down on the stretch for Queen’s Plate time, so when the TV cameras look out they’ll see this new turf course,” he said. “I think it’ll take course over the balance of this year, and we’re very much hoping in the summer of 2019 we’ll be ready to go.”