Woodbine Mohawk Park: North America Cup handle was second best in event history

Saturday’s card at Woodbine Mohawk Park produced total wagering of more than $5.7 million, the second-highest handle in history for a Pepsi North America Cup program. The total was up 25 percent over the 2024 handle of nearly $4.6 million and bested the 2020 handle of some $5.6 million that was the previous second best. Handle of $6,317,624 for the 2022 NA Cup card still holds the event handle record.

“Any time you are up year over year, I think that’s positive, especially when some of the wagering trends haven't been going in the right direction,” said Bill McLinchey, the vice president of Standardbred racing for the Woodbine Entertainment Group. “So, hopefully, we can build a little momentum off this big night and keep it rolling through the summer.”

Growing Home Market Area (HMA) wagering – bets placed in Ontario – is essential for supporting purses, jobs and breed development programs in the province that are critical for producing horses to fill fields and further grow handle. It’s the reason behind Ontario Racing’s #betontario campaign to educate consumers that wagering on horse racing has the same importance as ‘Buy Canadian’ initiatives aimed at supporting home-grown industries.

McLinchey did not reveal how much of the total NA Cup wagering was done in Ontario, but he said he was pleased with the overall numbers.

He said the major difference between this year compared to 2024 was that last year the carryover for the Jackpot Hi-5 was much smaller because the bet had been hit in the weeks leading up to NA Cup. There were mandatory payouts both years, but this year, the bet had a carryover of $421,608 going into the race and McLinchey said there was a healthy amount of new money wagered into the pool.

“With the mandatory payout, we hoped that there would be over a million dollars of new money, and we got $1.2 million in new money,” he said.

This year, the betting also got off to a strong start, McLinchey said.

“Right off the bat, the first race bet $500,000, which included our [Early] Pick 5,” McLinchey said. “Once I saw that, I thought, ‘We're off to a really good start here.’ Once we got off on the right foot I thought we could be in line for a decent night.”

McLinchey said the handle likely would have been even better had Chantilly, the reigning Canadian Horse of the Year, not scratched out of the Fan Hanover. The race was to be the first meeting between Chantilly and U.S. 2-year-old pacing filly of the year Miki And Minnie, who ended up winning the race.

“Going in, after the card was drawn, I thought it was as good a race card as we'd had with the hype between the North America Cup, but also the Chantilly and Miki And Minnie race,” McLinchey said. “[Chantilly scratching] was very deflating on Friday.”

Still, McLinchey said the night was positive on many fronts.

“I was really happy with the crowd,” McLinchey said. “They were lined up to get in at 4:30 which is always nice to see, given that earlier in the week the weather forecast looked like it was going to be cool and rainy and then, as it turned out, it was dry… it was really a nice night for racing.

“It’s a treat to get to watch good horses race. It’s rewarding when you see them and bet on them.”

-edited release (by Dave Briggs / Ontario Racing)