Woodbine shows strong first-half of thoroughbred meet

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Figures for the first part of the 2011 Woodbine thoroughbred racing season show solid increases in wagering. The Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) announced Thursday that all-sources betting on the live Woodbine meeting is up from 2010.

"It's been a good meet so far," said Sean Pinsonneault, WEG's Chief Operating Officer. "We continue to see strong growth in our product in the U.S., while our home market numbers are steady over the first half, year on year."

There has been increase of almost $22 million from the same time period in 2010. The wagering handle of more than $206 million is an improvement of nearly 12 percent.

"The $100k Pick 4 guarantees offered on Wednesdays and Sundays have really resonated with players," said Pinsonneault. "With the strong response on these pools, we have been able to increase the guarantees much earlier than we anticipated and have also helped to generate more wagering in the other pools."

Wagering on the Queen's Plate program in June established Woodbine records for a non-Breeders' Cup event. Almost $3 million went through the windows for the 152nd Queen's Plate and the all-sources betting handle on the entire Plate card was better than $8.7 million.