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Wednesday, 13 September 2017 15:09

Century Downs third Standardbred Season comes to a successful end

Rockyview County, AB: The third season of Standardbred racing at Century Downs Racetrack and Casino came to an end on September 9, 2017 showing gains in handle. All sources handle for the 71 days that begain March 18, 2017 was up 12% over the first 71 days of 2016. (Note: 96 days of Standardbred racing occurred in 2016.) 

“The move to Monday racing versus Friday in the prior two years proved to be a successful experiment,” noted General Manager, Paul Ryneveld. “Not only were Mondays handling better than the Fridays last year but many sites chose to take us on Saturday and Sunday as a result of taking us on Monday. Hence we saw handle growth on all days we raced.” 

2017 marked the inaugural Calgary Racing Festival which took place from August 6 – August 12. This successful week was capped off by the first leg of the World Driving Championship which saw a record handle of $203,000. The largest crowd of the meet was once again witnessed during the third edition of Packwood Grand on July 29. 

The Alberta Standardbred Horse Association (ASHA) were exceptionally happy with the meet noting that two of their marquee races, The Ralph Klein Memorial and the Lady Luck each surpassed $125,000 with projected further growth for the future. Both races are part of the Mid-summer Classic card which produced the second highest handle of the meet. 

2018 Standardbred dates are still in the works but Century Downs is currently working towards the inaugural Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse meet beginning September 23 and running through November 5, 2017. Racing Saturday and Sunday at 12:50 pm, two more days have been added on Mondays October 2 and 9 at 3:10 pm. 

For more information contact: 

Jackson Wittup (Racing Secretary)
Tel: 403-466-4599
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Karen Franco (Marketing Manager)
Tel: 403-466-0983
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Read 3188 times Last modified on Wednesday, 13 September 2017 15:12