Officials with the track have stated that after 25 days of racing in the current meet, the average live racing handle is 35 per cent higher than the 2015 average. According to Century Downs, the handle increase has been spurred by strong support from around North America, which has contributed to a 60 per cent increase in handle from off-track sources.
“Full fields in late March and all of April have really helped out,” noted Century Downs Racetrack and Casino GM Paul Ryneveld. “In addition, there are 20 per cent more sites in the United States picking up the Century Downs signal compared to last year. We are just heading into the high point of our season with the weather and Friday evening racing. We can only believe that business will continue to grow.”
Century Downs was originally scheduled to conclude its live Standardbred meet on August 21. The meet was to then be followed by a 28-date Thoroughbred meet.
A release from Century Downs states that ‘due to some potential changes to the racing landscape in Alberta, Century Downs will continue Standardbred racing through November 6, 2016 when the Thoroughbred season was scheduled to end.’
The release goes on to state that ‘the Thoroughbreds in Alberta will race entirely at Northlands Park in Edmonton for the 2016 calendar year. Century Downs will conduct its first Thoroughbred season in 2017 with dates to be determined.’
(With files from Century Downs)