Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment, shared an update on Standardbred racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park during a virtual edition of its "Stronger Together" stakeholder event on Thursday, Feb. 3.
During the "Stronger Together" session hosted by Chad Rozema, Lawson provided a review of the 2021 Standardbred season and looked ahead to this year at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Among the topics discussed were wagering performance and horse supply.
Lawson said that he was proud of what Woodbine was able to accomplish last season despite periods of Standardbred racing being shutdown during the early part of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We did extremely well. In the summertime when we were running five cards a week, we were at $10 million [in wagering] a week, which is just a new threshold for us," said Lawson, but he noted, "The stopping and starting... that had a dramatic impact on our overall numbers."
Lawson referred to the significant loss of race dates as Mohawk went from 178 cards in 2020 down to 157 cards in 2021. He said the plan and his expectations are that Mohawk will host its full 223-date calendar this year.
"If you look at that number, $324 million [all sources handle in 2021] over 157 cards, that's the highest number for a harness racetrack in North America. We can be really proud of that," he said. "Our field size was down a bit and that's something we need to keep our eye on and we're going to take some initiatives... but to reach that kind of $2 million number [for average nightly handle] with the amount of racing that we have, even at 157 cards, it's just a spectacular result I think.
"The one concern I would have is that [Home Market Area] wagering is down," noted Lawson. "You can see it down 14 per cent year over year. I hope people understand that those [Ontario Sires Stakes] purses are derived from HMA wagering so that's a concern for the Ontario industry and we've got to find a way and we're working hard at it.
"All in all, I always want to be glass half-full and that $324 million jumps out at me," he continued. "We kept up our $2 million average per card so we should be pleased. I am mindful of the Home Market wagering and also sports betting is just around the corner and that gives me cause for concern, obviously, too."
Lawson said that the racing team is working to address concerns regarding field size and horse supply in the province with recruiting initiatives and new ideas like the recent Pop-Up Series, which he dubbed as a success.
He explained that Woodbine saw a drop over the course of the year from an average field size of nine to 8.7 and into this year "we may be hovering closer to 8.5 right now" as the concern persists.
"This Ontario industry is facing a challenge and we need to find a way to prop up field size and I'm hoping that we will do it at both quality horse level and the less expensive level and get more horses racing under that Woodbine brand to increase wagering for the entire province."
Moving on to discuss the previously announced stakes schedule, Lawson highlighted the Pepsi North America Cup is returning to its original pre-pandemic spot in June this year.
"As our racing team looked across North America at the opportunities to slot this race in the perfect time slot, we came back to June again, which is the traditional time," he explained. "I think it's the right thing to do after talking to Jessica [Buckley] and Bill [McLinchey] in terms of the timing of it as it relates to the offerings by other racetracks. We've all got to cooperate and not compete with each other and hopefully the industry generally realizes that in order to sustain ourselves, we can't cannibalize each other, so we have to find a slot that that works for everyone and I think that's a great place for the N.A. Cup. It's done well there. I'll go out on a limb and tell you that I think we'll hit $5 million [in wagering again] there on June 18."
Lawson said last year's stakes schedule that was condensed into a 'September to remember' was a lot of fun, but the jam-packed schedule didn't allow each race to be highlighted in the way it deserved.
"Another way of looking at it is we didn't get to do the marketing and give the pizzazz," he said. "A race like the Canadian Trotting Classic was kind of lost amongst everything. I think it was run the same weekend maybe as the Woodbine Mile. It was run back-to-back with the N.A. Cup... Really these tremendous races that we have, the Metro Pace, Canadian Trotting Classic and others, there's just a ton of them and that will still go on in September, and I think this will give us a chance to market them in the right way so it will work for us... It's a good time for these horses to find their way to Woodbine so I'm very comfortable with the decision and I look forward to it. It's going to be a great race in June."
Lawson also discussed building the brand of the Mohawk Million and the return of the $6.7 million (USD) Breeders Crown to Woodbine Mohawk Park this October.
Other topics included property development, sports wagering, integrity in racing and the industry practice of post time drag. Lawson also acknowledged the upcoming retirement of Scott McKelvie.
He concluded the session with optimism for the future of harness racing at Mohawk and across the province.
"It's an industry that I hope continues to work together the way it has," he said. "When I reflect on these conversations, I sometimes will come back to the fact that the harness racing industry in Ontario can be proud of where it sits today in the worldwide market, not just the North American market. And it's about the horsepeople, their love of the game and their resiliency, and we've been through a terrible time. I mean 157 race cards at the premier track last year at Mohawk relative to the 223 days that we were supposed to run. We are going to come out of this and we are going to come out of this stronger together. And it's because of the people. They've respected the COVID protocols, they continue to breed horses and continue to buy horses and it's a humble group of people that are appreciative and cooperate... We appreciate everything that all the people in the industry are doing to make this industry the best in the world. And I really think our product is as good as anywhere in the world, and let's keep it going and let's keep it going together because we've got to work together and take where we are today and build for the future."
The full "Stronger Together" session is available below.