Woodbine Mohawk Park: Pepsi North America Cup card smashes handle records
Pebble Beach's emphatic victory in the 39th Pepsi North America Cup highlighted a record evening for Woodbine Entertainment.
The 13-race Pepsi North America Cup card on June 18 generated an event and racetrack record handle of $6,317,624.47. The $6.3 million handle smashed the former record of $5.6 million set in 2020.
"Saturday night was a special evening for many reasons, including our record handle," said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine. "The world-class racing we saw on the track was matched by the terrific energy from our crowds and horseplayers."
This year's event marked the first Cup since 2019 to not be rescheduled or face government-imposed capacity limits. Saturday’s handle of $6.3 million well exceeded the 2019 handle of $3.8 million.
"Bringing the Cup back to its traditional position in June was a big success," said Lawson. "We've worked hard to strengthen our brand throughout the pandemic and Saturday's results reflect that growth, while also providing a momentum boost as we enter a busy summer for Woodbine."
The wagering menu for this year's Cup card was headlined by a Jackpot Hi-5 mandatory payout, which saw $1.8 million in new money wagered. The new money joined a carryover total of $548,692.73 and winning horseplayers received a return of $2,228.18 for a $0.20 ticket.
Other highlights included the popular Pick-5 wager, which was offered three-times on the card, bringing in just over $437,000. The Pepsi North America Cup race handle of $579,048.82 was up 7.8 per cent from 2021, while wagering on the undercard stakes was up 23 per cent from last year.
Pebble Beach delivered a knockout performance to win the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup in a final time of 1:50., providing both his trainer Noel Daley and driver Todd McCarthy with their first Cup victories.
Live racing continues every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Post time each evening is 7 p.m.
-edited release (Woodbine Entertainment)