King's Plate Day Delivers Record Handle at Woodbine

King's Plate day card Aug. 20 at Woodbine generated the largest single-card handle in the track's history.

A total of CAN $18,127,049.67 (US$13,368,699.13, CAN$1=US$0.737504) was wagered on Sunday's 13-race card, eclipsing the previous record of $18,005,973.60 from the 2019 Queen's Plate. The record handle is also a significant increase from last year's Queen's Plate handle of $13.6 million. (With Charles III becoming king of Britain in September, the Queen's Plate saw its name changed to the King's Plate.)

"It's exciting to have ushered in a new era for the Plate in record-breaking fashion," said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. "We felt good about the buzz surrounding the first King's Plate in over 70 years and that was clearly backed up on Sunday through the energy of our sold-out crowd and the wagering support."

The King's Plate race, won by Paramount Prince, brought in $4,455,176.26 in wagering, including a record win pool of $1,179,172.71. The 17-horse field for the Plate was the largest since 2011.

The strong wagering numbers for the King's Plate card can be attributed to many areas across the board.

The on-track handle spiked 17.6%, while Woodbine's entire "Home Market Area" brought in just shy of $3 million in wagering, an 8.6% increase over 2022. The "foreign market" wagered $14.5 million, up significantly from $10.3 million in 2022.

"Our racing team did a great job putting together a competitive and appealing Plate card for horseplayers," noted Lawson. "I'm very proud of our entire team behind the scenes at Woodbine for their efforts. Now we aim to carry this momentum through the remainder of the season and the upcoming major stakes in September and October."