Charles Town Concludes Successful Season

When Holy Dixieland crossed the wire first in the ninth race the evening of Dec. 30, the curtain was brought down on a year of racing at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races for the 84th time. And after its 2016 live racing season closed with its fifth straight seven-figure all-sources handle total, the 1,375 races held at Charles Town over the year had produced a new annual record with $116,184 bet per race. The 2016 season marks the second consecutive year the wagering per race record has fallen, as the $116,184 figure represents a 4.05% increase over the prior high of $111,664 established in 2015.

Also on the wagering front, Charles Town Classic day in April produced the track's second-largest single-card handle with $4,424,048 wagered on the 13 race program, with in excess of $1.7 million bet on the Charles Town Classic itself. In September, the Race for the Ribbon program became the fourth largest non-Charles Town Classic day handle in track history and West Virginia Breeders' Classics XXX turned out to be the most popular in the event's history with bettors as $1,753,601 was wagered on the card, easily topping the mark of $1,576,267 established in 2013.

The full list of all-time pari-mutuel marks set in 2016 includes:

Highest all-sources handle per race ($116,184)

Highest export handle per race ($110,623)

Highest August handle per race ($100,352)

Highest September handle per race ($116,599)

Highest October handle per race ($120,655)

Highest November handle per race ($119,754)

Highest December handle per race ($122,666)

Largest West Virginia Breeders' Classics handle ($1,753,601)

Largest Exacta pool (April 23—$359,868)

Largest Pick 4 pool (April 23—$292,563)

Additionally, each dollar in purses paid in 2016 produced $6.51 in pari-mutuel handle, easily toping the gaming era record amount of $5.90 for each dollar in purses paid set back in 2012. Since 2009 alone, pari-mutuel handle produced for each dollar in purses paid has increased 55% ($6.51 versus $4.20), while handle per race has risen 37.7% ($116,184 versus $84,373).

"To set another record for wagering volume per race in the face of some obstacles speaks volumes about the quality and dedication of our entire team here at Charles Town," said vice president of racing operations Erich Zimny. "We'd also like to thank both our business partners for their contributions to our operations in 2016 and the horseplayers whose interest in our racing has helped in spurring on our success. We look forward to the challenge of trying to top it all in 2017."

For a fifth straight year, Jose Montano—the 2012 Eclipse Award winner as the country's top apprentice rider—ended the campaign on top of the jockey standings. Montano's 165 wins in 634 starts put him 11 wins ahead of runner-up Arnaldo Bocachica and 56 in front of Antonio Lopez. Despite Montano getting the best of Bocachica in the wins department, Bocachica won the earnings crown among riders as his mounts amassed total winnings of $2,736,276. Bocachica added his first graded stakes win to his resume in 2016 when he piloted Covey Trace to victory in the Charles Town Oaks (gr. III).

While Montano's streak on top of the jockey standings might seem long, he still has a way to go to match the name at the top of the trainer standings, as conditioner Jeff Runco took the top spot for an 11th straight year. In 2016, Runco saddled 145 winners at Charles Town and 167 winners in total, which will allow him to finish among the country's top 25 trainers for a ninth straight year. The 57-year-old also ended the year within 158 wins of 4,000 in his career—a feat that's only been currently accomplished by 10 other trainers in North American racing history. Ronney Brown finished second in the trainer standings with 112 winners.

On April 23, Charles Town hosted the eighth running of the Charles Town Classic. With its $1.25 million purse, the Charles Town Classic was the country's co-richest Thoroughbred race in 2016. Stanford led every step of the way to notch the biggest win of his career to date. The Malibu Moon   colt, owned in partnership by Stonestreet Stables, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, allowed Javier Castellano to become the first jockey to win two Charles Town Classics, while Todd Pletcher also notched his second victory in West Virginia's richest race. Pletcher and Castellano teamed up in 2012 to win the Charles Town Classic with Caixa Eletronica.

As the year drew to a close at Charles Town, the track announced its plans for 2017, which includes 166 live racing days, headlined by the $1,250,000 Charles Town Classic April 22 and Race for the Ribbon day punctuated by the $300,000 Charles Town Oaks Sept. 23.  The third of the track's event days, West Virginia Breeders' Classics XXXI, is scheduled for Oct. 14.   

Charles Town's 2017 racing season kicks off Jan. 11, with post time for the first race scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST.