Marquis Downs sees higher average daily handle

Marquis Downs showed an increase of almost 20 percent in average daily handle on its live product, averaging $43,370 for a total of $1,040,849 on its 24-day meeting, which ended Saturday.

Last year, the total handle for a 30-day meeting was $1,087,612, an average of $36,253.

Almost all of the handle is ontrack since the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, racetrack does not export its signal. Wagering on Marquis Downs is available on its website through Woodbine’s HorsePlayer Interactive.

Marquis Downs ran 193 races this year, 46 fewer than in 2012. The average field size was 7.36, down from 7.53 last year.

The race for leading rider ended in exciting fashion when Tim Moccasin captured the final race of the meeting with Spotlightonme to bring his win total to 34. Neville Stephenson rode 33 winners, and Krista Carignan was third with 32.

Wendy Anderson repeated as leading trainer with 24 wins, one more than Mike Tourangeau. Russell Gardipy was third with 11 wins.

Wind Dancer Stable was the leading owner with 16 wins and earnings of $55,247.

Bear’s Saga was the only horse to win as many as four races at the meeting, while the 2-year-old Mr. Kalypso, who won stakes in each of his three starts, was the leader in earnings with $17,097.