Rescheduled King's Plate Tests Weekday Wagering Waters

Following the Aug. 17 cancellation of the King's Plate due to afternoon downpours, Woodbine CEO Michael Copeland said track management felt rescheduling the 165th King's Plate and four other stakes for Aug. 23, a Friday, was better than a date this weekend.

Not all Canadian stakeholders agree. The Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association of Ontario would have preferred a Saturday date, its executive director, Steve Lym, said. A weekend running was also the preference of David Anderson, chair of the Thoroughbred Improvement Program, which supports the Ontario racing and breeding industry.

The King's Plate, a 1 1/4-mile race for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, is the start of the Canadian Triple Crown, followed by the Sept. 10 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie and the Sept. 29 Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine.

Copeland cited wagering, "the single-largest revenue driver for our business," as a chief consideration for choosing Friday to reschedule the Plate and four other stakes. Copeland believes staging it Friday allows it "to own the day" and stand out more instead of being somewhat obscured against a stakes-laden Travers Stakes Day Aug. 24. Running it Aug. 25 would have brought it 48 hours closer to the Prince of Wales "without a compelling reason from a racing perspective to have it on a Sunday versus a Friday," he added.

"We still believe that Friday is going to be a big day from a crowd perspective. We think it's really going to drive attendance," he said. "We can get a national broadcast window on Friday, which is very important. We've got a new national broadcast agreement with Sportsnet here in Canada, so we're able to get that on Friday evening. So that that gives us national television exposure. So we're really confident that we're respecting the stature of the race.

"It's one of the last Fridays in the summer up here, and kids are not yet back to school in Canada; they go back a little later. So we think we're going to have a lot of people that are going to attend live. But more importantly, we're going to get the wagering numbers from those that aren't able to be there in person."

He said the rescheduling was done for what is best for Woodbine, not impacted by the existing Saturday plans of prominent staff.

Lym and Anderson expressed concerns about diminished on-site attendance and wagering and that a more significant percentage of Woodbine's Friday handle will come from the United States, where they would derive a smaller percentage of revenue.

TIP does not "get our revenue from simulcast. It's home market," said Anderson, a Plate-winning owner and breeder. "And when a race of this magnitude, a race day of this magnitude, is held on a weekday when local people cannot come—they have to go to work it—it's going to put a real damper on our home-market wagering. And that TIP money is the money that funds the King's Plate purse and these other Triple Crown, Triple Tiara races, and our Ontario-sired and Ontario-bred programs and our breeders' awards.

"So as a breeder, we're at the mercy of decisions that are made by Woodbine, and that's what's frustrating for us breeders because now we face cuts this year because of a lower home market handle last year, and we're probably going to face more cuts again this year because of these decisions."

Anderson had been scheduled to have a runner in this year's race in the maiden Bedard , who had been an early scratch this past Saturday due to a timing error for medication treatment. The Kevin Attard-trained Bedard will also scratch Friday to await the Prince of Wales on dirt—a decision made after he worked swiftly on the dirt training track Aug. 21 at Woodbine.

Anderson, his breeder, is part owner in the gelding via X-Men Racing, the group with which he won the Plate with Moira two years ago with Madaket Stables and SF Racing. They are also partners in Bedard.

Other races are likely to be impacted by scratches, though some notable jockeys who were to be in town for the day are expected to return, such as Kazushi Kimura, a former leading rider at Woodbine who is traveling from California to ride the card.

Lym, a prior director of racing at Woodbine during a 32-year association there, said the Ontario HBPA was consulted on the cancellation Aug. 17, not on the new date of the race, which was announced within a couple of hours of the cancellation. 

Lou Donato, a horse owner and a high-level gambler on Canadian racing, sent an email to the HBPA critical of Woodbine's rescheduling, which Anderson distributed on social media.

Lym said he feels for King's Plate owners who may not get the same experience Friday that they would have this past Saturday when as many as 20,000 people were expected to attend. 

"You'd like to enjoy that an honor," he said. "On a Friday, I'm not so sure you get the same feeling before the same kind of crowd."

A rescheduled date, whether a weekend or weekday, would likely result in diminished attendance without fans being able to make long-established plans to attend. Copeland suggested a crowd of 5,000 could be there Friday, with potential seating for up to 8,000. Partly cloudy skies and a high temperature of 78 degrees are forecast.

Woodbine will provide free attendance and programs for attendees Friday, which is typical for a usual day of racing there.

The track is also providing full refunds to individuals/groups who purchased tickets for racing this past Saturday in the grandstand or for Hats & Horseshoes. Purchasers of other experiences will receive full, partial refunds, or credits, and those groups are being contacted directly.

"We can't unfortunately meet everybody's needs going forward, but I think we can do our best to do as much as we can for as many by refunding the tickets so they're not out from a financial basis," Copeland said.

With regard to staging the Plate Friday, he said he views the scheduling as the "right thing under tough circumstances, and I think we're going to come out of it really well."