Bucking the continental trend, the Woodbine Entertainment Group has seen the handle on its own thoroughbred product increase for the second consecutive year. President and CEO Nick Eaves commented on the announcement yesterday. Jamie Martin, the organization's executive VP of Racing, has now commented, also

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Woodbine Racetrack's 2010 thoroughbred meet, which was comprised of 167 race dates, saw an 'all-sources' total of $393,507,233 wagered, an 8.9 per cent overall rise from the $361,435,208 figure recorded from the 167 dates offered in 2009. The 2010 increase comes after the seven-per-cent hike in handle which was seen in 2009 over 2008.

“I think that they (the numbers) are telling us is that people like big events,” Martin was quoted as saying in an article by Gordon Anderson in the Toronto Sun.

“What we’ve tended to do is put more races together on single cards trying to make our big days bigger, not only from a racing perspective but from a marketing perspective ... People are telling us they like it and that’s where we need to continue to grow.”

(With files from the Toronto Sun)

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