Report: $1.3 Million (Est.) For Woodbine Alterations

Published: December 12, 2008 10:13 am EST

According to a report in the Toronto Star, moving the poles, finish line, photo finish and altering the press box at Woodbine Racetrack would cost $1.3 million.

"…Woodbine might spend the estimated $1.3 million required to relocate the finish line, set up photo-finish cameras, realign lights and build a new perch for the three blind mice, a.k.a. the judges," Dave Perkins wrote.

Woodbine has been hosting seven-eighths mile races on its Monday cards throughout the month of December. In a Trot Insider exclusive, Jamie Martin, Woodbine Entertainment Group's senior vice president, Racing, said that the shortened races have been carded to gather sufficient data, which will then be analyzed as to whether WEG should go forward with making the costly changes.

Many SC readers voiced their opinions on the seven-eighths racing when Trot Insider contacted a handful of WEG regular drivers for their opinions on the shortened racing.

"The Woodbine track tends to promote single-file racing, with a heavy emphasis on early speed, and gamblers don't particularly like it," Perkins wrote. "Moving the finish line west, which means moving the starting point west the commensurate distance, might make racing generally more attractive to bettors and that, after all, is the name of the game."

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

(With files from the Toronto Star)

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