Woodbine Entertainment Group today announced the 2012 Mohawk standardbred meet, which kicked off last Thursday, will shift to a four-day-a-week schedule

, beginning Monday.

Live racing will be conducted on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with first-race post time set for 7:10 p.m. A special Sunday, July 1 card will also be presented.

The Ontario Racing Commission approved the variance on WEG’s original five-day-a-week race date calendar on Tuesday. Seventeen Tuesday cards in total have been cut.

“We had a successful Woodbine meet offering four race nights a week, so our intent is to sustain that momentum with the same formula for Mohawk,” said Bruce Murray, WEG vice-president, Standardbred Racing.

“Full and competitive fields are essential to meeting the demands of our customers, and we simply don’t have enough high quality horse supply to ensure five cards a week throughout the season. We consulted with the horse people, the Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA), and they concur with this view.”

The Mohawk season is now scheduled for 81 days, concluding Saturday, September 29.

(WEG)