Balmoral Park has reported strong first-quarter growth in 2012, as the raceway has shown a 35 per cent increase in handle versus the first quarter of 2011

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Total Q1 handle of $41,926,837 for 38 programs in 2012 was an increase of $10,879,738 compared to the 2011 Q1 handle of $31,047,099 on 37 programs.

The nightly average at Balmoral rose to $1,103,337, an increase of $264,227 per night versus Q1 of 2011. Going back to the successful model of the '70s and '80s, two of the three weekly cards went with only 10 races resulting in a total of 423 races on 38 nights.

The theory of less races to handicap and more free time for the players paid handsome dividends as the average handle per race in 2012 Q1 rose to $99,117, up $22,835 per race from Q1 of 2011.

(With files from Balmoral)