David Willmot On Trot Radio

Dont get me wrong Woodbine is a great facility for horses and horseman alike. As far as putting on a show like is done for the Thoroughbreds, the Standardbreds are pushed about as far from the grandstand and betting public as possible. Although it was not close at Greenwood least you could see the horses on the track and there were always lots of onlookers just outside the paddock. With all the empty parking spaces at Woodbine couldnt the old paddock have been enlarged and opened up some how to bring the public closer to the animal and what goes on? I realize that the "real" betters may not care to come take a look but maybe they do. If WEG stopped treating the standardbreds like the redheaded stepchild instead of the show that is put on all year the attendance would grow to its former size.

Sasha, you are not alone. Woodbine has driven out a lot of players because of high takeouts/low rewards. They don't realize that if the Betfairs, bookies and rebaters of the world didn't exist, they wouldn't get back much of that action regardless. They'd love to be a pure monopoly, though it wouldn't help them much, but what bugs me is they think they have a right to be a monopoly. They are they have the rights to some of the profits from slots, or they might have nothing the way they fail to understand the bettor (their customer).

I'm with Gilles on the puny rewards. Why use HPI when I get 5% back on my other account with no minimum? WEG's also denied access to their pools to this particular outfit - their loss, I've moved on to other tracks as a result.

I have attended the OJC/ WEG businesses since 1968. In days of yore, I would have gone to Greenwood eighty times a year and Mohawk another twenty. Today, (while age is a factor!), it would NOT cross my mind to attend Woodbine for harness more then 4 or five times per year--- why?? beacuse it is B-O-R-I-N-G !!
There is utterly ZERO fun, sizzle, atmosphere, excitement. The plan apparently is to throw a hundred horse on the track, watch them go in a circle and get the H*ll out of here by 11:15-- and don't let the door hit your butt as you leave!!
You Learn in Marketing 101 to create the sizzle and sell that!. WEG wants you to buy the steak. (They should hire Vince McMahon.!) They need to institute live music,contests
with good prizes, (dinners and trips),free coffee on Mondays, free programs on Thursdays, interviews- talk to the stars on Friday and Saturday; handicapping contest on Sunday,(betting vouchers for prizes), Suggestion boxes where they MUST use the good ideas from the floor, with more prizes for trying. A big welcome mat extended: "GLAD to see you!!" Show the fan that they know we came HERE when we could have gone elsewhere.
And turn the volume on Woodbine T.V.s UP!! The last time I was there the ONLY sound inside was from Santa Anita!! Sorry I now prefer Western or Grand River!! So Long!!

Was it a good business decision to sell Greenwood Raceway & use the money to build the E P Taylor turf course so Woodbine could hold the Breeder's Cup; now the Greenwood teletheatre is the most successful teletheatre--would not an in-town racetrack have been more profitable at that site?

Mr. Willmot comments on the declining handle for standard-bred racing.
Possibly a better reward system for the regular players would be a way to at least keep these individuals interested in playing with the same regularity. The TOA system should offer better rewards for these players.
If the current format is maintained which consists of wagering $1250 weekly to even qualify for a ridiculously low return, this will turn away more and more of your regular players.
I would suggest that all players who reaches that first qualifying level should get a return of at least 1% on all moneys wagered. Also a review should be made to further reward those individuals who attain the higher levels of wagering.