Woodbine's Shortened Meet Down $50M in Handle 

Woodbine announced Dec. 4 that its COVID-19 shortened Thoroughbred meet handled CA$462,041,546, down more than CA$50 million compared to 2019 when CA$516,189,419 was wagered.

The meet had 96 race days as a result of starting late and finishing early, leaving 35 fewer race days and 305 fewer races than in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the start of the season from April 18 until June 6 and forced it to finish prematurely on Nov. 22, instead of Dec. 13, as scheduled.

"Like many businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted our business and the entire horse racing industry in Ontario," said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. "However, I am very proud of how we responded and look forward to working with all of our stakeholders as we continue to manage the ongoing impacts caused by the pandemic."

The shortened season, which had 28% fewer race dates than scheduled (133 race days were originally scheduled), was a primary contributor to a 10.5% decrease in handle, according to the track. The closure of Woodbine and Woodbine Mohawk Park to the public, and the closure of Woodbine Entertainment's Champions' Teletheatre Network, were also significant contributors to the decrease in handle.

"The fact that we were able to limit the decrease in handle to 10.5% despite losing nearly a third of our scheduled race dates speaks to the strength of our Thoroughbred racing product and our extensive efforts and focus on our wagering business in response to the pandemic," said Lawson.

In Woodbine's home market area, wagering was CA$54,810,867, down 41% compared to last year. In 2019, Woodbine contributed CA$28 million to the all-sources handle on Thoroughbred racing. This year, Woodbine Racetrack only contributed CA$124,000 to the overall handle due to being closed to the public for most of the year.

However, wagering on Woodbine's Thoroughbred races continued to be strong in foreign markets, generating CA$391,395,974 in all-sources handle, down less than 3%.

Handle per race was strong at CA$509,417, up 19.6%, likely influenced by average field size increasing from 8.2 to 8.9.

"With the start of the season being postponed more than a month, this allowed more horses to be ready for the start of the season which resulted in increased field sizes," said Lawson. "While any growth in field size is always encouraging, it continues to be a focus for us as it is impacting our ability to maximize our wagering handle and support the purse payments."

Although the 161st Queen's Plate was not able to welcome spectators this year, it generated the third-highest handle in its history. The 13-race card handled CA$14,532,678, including CA$3,494,496 on The Queen's Plate race that saw one-eyed Mighty Heart live up to his name, defeating his 13 rivals after going off at 13-1.

"Overall, we will reflect back on this season as a year of overcoming many challenges that will only strengthen and benefit our industry moving forward," said Lawson.