Howard Hamilton Dressing up for race day
WE'VE ALL seen photographs of Her Majesty the Queen at one or another of England's famous racetracks. As one of the kingdom's leading horse owners, she has served to invest these occasions and indeed the sport itself with a certain flair and dignity.
Here in Jamaica, the time has long past when race day had such a high tone. Preoccupied, as we have been, in opening up all activities, institutions and events to access by the "common man", we have succeeded in throwing out the baby with tha bath water. But all is not lost; there are ways by which we can give race day a broader appeal, while preserving its viability and character.
Take for example what I recently observed at the Woodbine racetrack in northwest Toronto. Facilities there are awesome, and the racetrack, situated on 640 acres, in fact outpaces any other in North America for the variety of available training options. In addition to its one-mile oval main track, and the mile and a half turf, it boasts four additional training surfaces - a one-mile dirt-training track, a seven-furlong turf-training track, a quarter-mile jogging ring or sand ring and the field.
The track is home to the $1 million Queen's Plate, North America's oldest continuously run stakes race; the $1 million ATTO Mile; the $1.5 million Canadian International and the $1 million North America Cup for Standardbreds. In addition, Woodbine is home to the Breeders' Stakes, third and final gem in Canada's Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (comprised of The Queen's Plate; Prince of Wales Stakes, run at Fort Erie; and The Breeders' Stakes).
The 1996 Breeders' Cup was awarded to Woodbine, the first time the Breeders' Cup extravaganza was hosted outside the United States.
The recent addition of two giant high resolution liquid electronic display boards allow racing fans the full spectacle of every race from the comfort of their grandstand seats.
But, aside from those features that would appeal only to a turfite, a day at the races at Woodbine is an entertaining and value-oriented experience. The racetrack's owners spent millions on upgrading and refurbishing the grandstand, with seating redesigned to improve sight lines. In addition, they invested in air handling equipment so that the area could be designated a smoking area.
An improved tent area to the east of the grandstand provides first class facilities for large groups, excellent sight lines and proximity to the racing station. Television and simulcasting facilities house three studios, which produce programmes for on-track/simulcast, commercial television, and The Racing Network's digital television service, which provides 24-hour broadcast of horse racing.
Woodbine's conference, meeting and dining facilities catering to groups of 20 to 400 persons also mean that racing fans can indulge their favourite pastime, while using the opportunity to entertain or even conduct business.
A big part of the attraction at Woodbine is the presence of slot machines, which are operated under siteholder agreements with the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation. Slot Machines were opened at Woodbine in March 2000 and there are currently 1,700 slot machines on a 56,000 square foot state-of-the-art slot floor.
On track wagering at Woodbine increased to $321.2 million in 2001, from $296.5 million in 2000, a jump that the track's management has attributed in part to customer satisfaction with its improved facilities. In addition, slot machine commissions increased from $56.6 million in 2000 to $86.2 million in 2001.
The lesson from Woodbine is compelling. The future of horse racing must involve increasing on-track attendance with an improved live racing experience and expanding wagering though non-traditional means that take full advantage of new technologies.
In the United States tracks in California and elsewhere are catching on and have added live musical entertainment to their offering, with enormous success.
Maybe someday soon we can apply these ideas to Caymanas Track, making of race day a grand social event, a day to which one looks forward and for which one dresses as for a special occasion.
Howard L. Hamilton is a former chairman of Caymanas Track Limited and current president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. He is also a major shareholder of Markham Betting. He may be contacted at hhamiltn@cw jamaica.com
