Halfway through the lengthened season of Standardbred racing at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino, the live racing handle continues to show strength.

When comparing the 25 days of harness racing in May and June 2016 to similar 25 racing days in 2015, live racing handle has grown 14.4 per cent. The average daily live racing handle continues to trend 31 per cent better than the average of 2015.

"We are very pleased to be seeing positive strength in our handle on-track, off-track and definitely outside of Alberta," noted General Manager, Paul Ryneveld. "Our southern Alberta OTB handle has also improved 14 per cent over last year which shows we are gaining good loyalty and interest amongst our OTB clientele."

In addition, the big event days have been getting bigger through targeted promotions and brand recognition. "Both our Father’s Day and the recent Regional Driving Championship saw handle gains of 40-50 per cent on those respective days," Ryneveld commented.

Standardbred racing continues through November 6, 2016 with racing on weekends and holidays at 1:10 p.m. and Homestretch Fridays until August 28 at 5:45 p.m. Special racing will occur on Friday, September 9 at 5:05 p.m. and no racing on Sunday, September 11 due to the ASHA yearling sale. Thoroughbred racing will arrive on the Calgary scene in 2017 with dates and racing calendar to be determined by Horse Racing Alberta in the fourth quarter of 2016.

(with files from Century)