On July 19, a crowd just shy of 19,000 attended the races at Canterbury Park, a thoroughbred racetrack in Shakopee, Minnesota. Shakopee, located 50 km west of Minneapolis, has a population of just 37,000,

On a normal Saturday afternoon at Canterbury, attendance hovers around 4,000, with wagering in the $450,000 range. On this Saturday, betting topped $635,000, and despite a “special event” admission charge of $8 per person, the facility attracted nearly five times the crowd of a usual weekend card.

So what happened differently on this day than on any other day?

July 19 was Extreme Day at Canterbury. Fans lined up to watch sprints, long distance races, and even a dash with 20 horses – half racing on the turf and half on the dirt, simultaneously. Throw in the ostrich, donkey and camel racing, and you have an event that brought in more than $150,000 in general admission revenues alone.

We often look to others for inspiration. However, when it comes to extreme racing, Standardbred Canada, and harness racing in this country, were ahead of the curve. Before launching Xtreme Horsepower in 2007, we were told the numerous reasons why it wouldn’t happen. But through great perseverance, and an eventual partner in Georgian Downs, we did get 18 horses safely around the track - numerous times. We pulled off standing starts, races going the opposite direction, straight-away sprints and racing under saddle; plus mascots and minis impressing crowds year after year. The fans loved it, and once established, the horsepeople loved it as well, as Xtreme Horsepower was a rare event for the average horseperson, and the average horse.

Xtreme’s run at Georgian Downs continued until 2012, when we learned about the impending demise of the Slots-at-Racetrack program. Sadly, we haven’t seen the event since.

During its six years, Xtreme averaged $221,000 bet per card. To give the number some context; over that same six year period, the amount bet on the race card held exactly one week after Xtreme day each year, averaged $129,000, meaning Xtreme represented a 71% handle increase. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, grandstands and dining rooms were full and overflowing, and based on an exit survey, conducted following the second edition of Xtreme, 23% of those asked were first-timers to the racetrack, and 52% were women – both numbers bucking the usual trend. Approval ratings soared over 80%.

This is the second consecutive August without the event, and Xtreme needs to come back. Learning from Canterbury, and thinking about sustainability, we should consider marketing the event as a paid spectacle, geared to casual newcomers. Perhaps every track in the country could hold an extreme day, using different variations in various locations. Maybe at Woodbine, we could see the first race ever held, simultaneously, over three surfaces?

This is not an idea simply worthy of “study and exploration.” This is a concept that has been proven to increase wagering, drive attendance and appeal to a wider audience than the average weekend card of racing.

Let’s bring the X factor back to our racetracks.

Darryl Kaplan
[email protected]