LOOK WHOS LAUGHING NOW
Jan 4, 2014 10:53:28 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 10:53:28 GMT -5
YEARS AGO PEOPLE USE TO LOOK AT US HERE IN THE KEYSTONE AND LAUGH, WELL HE WHO LAUGHS LAST... ;D
Buoyed by three new event days and the richest thoroughbred race in the country outside of the Breeders’ Cup and Triple Crown, three of Penn National Gaming’s four thoroughbred tracks presently conducting live racing were able to post new single day record handles in their track’s histories this past year. The success of the events helped the quartet of tracks post a combined daily handle gain of 2.16% in 2013 when compared to 2012 figures.
“Over the last few years, we’ve made a concerted effort to increase the visibility of our signals, create marketable events and make the Penn Gaming racing brand one that carries more national appeal,” said Penn National Gaming’s Vice President of Racing Chris McErlean. “The results we’ve seen from a pari-mutuel standpoint indicate to us that we’ve found some good niches and we hope to build on it in 2014.”
Spearheading the charge was Hollywood Casino at Penn National Racecourse, whose inaugural Penn Mile card included not only the first running of the $500,000 Penn Mile, but also the $250,000 Mountainview Handicap and $150,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup. Penn Mile day shattered numerous pari-mutuel records, including the highest single card handle in track history, with $3,658,996 bet and the largest amount wagered on one race, when fans bet a total of $1,139,478 on the one mile turf event won by the Gary Contessa trained Rydilluc.
Penn Mile day was also part of a record year at the track as Penn National set a new all-time record for daily handle, with an average of $1,078,543 bet on Penn’s races over the course of the year. That figure also represented an increase of 6.43% over 2012.
Following in the footsteps of its sister track in Pennsylvania, Zia Park inaugurated its own new event in 2013 as the first Land of Enchantment Day took place on November 27. The card, which featured the first running of the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks, as well as the $200,000 Zia Park Derby, established a new all-time single card handle mark for the New Mexico track as the $1,548,165 wagered smashed the prior mark by nearly 50%.
Daily handle at Zia’s 2013 meet was up more than 10% over the 2012 season. Much like Penn National, Zia also showed a double digit increase in daily export handle when compared to last year.
The Charles Town Classic, run for the fifth time this past year and second time as a Grade 2 event, continues to set new wagering benchmarks at the West Virginia oval. Run for $1.5 million in purse money for the first time in 2013, the April 20 card produced an all-time record for a single, live program with $4,398,985 wagered. The Charles Town Classic itself set a single race record with a total of $1,286,188 put through the windows – a number that represents a higher handle than a staggering 1,471 full, completed live racing programs held at the track since 2007.
In addition to the Charles Town Classic, won by Game on Dude, the track’s other two marquee days, the Race for the Ribbon and West Virginia Breeders’ Classics, also produced the highest handles in the history of the individual events.
Though Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races fell less than a percentage point short in its bid for a third consecutive record settle total handle year, 2013 now stands as the second most successful pari-mutuel year for its live racing in the track’s 80-year history.
Sam Houston’s 2013 season saw the first running of the Houston Ladies Classic, the new centerpiece of the track’s stakes program. The $400,000 race drew the likes of Summer Applause, and eventual race winner Joyful Victory, who would go on to capture the Grade 1 Santa Margarita later in 2013.
The Penn Gaming tracks will look to capitalize on their collective success in 2014 with the inaugural Penn Gaming Racing Challenge binding six of the major event days across the four tracks. The series awards points to owners, trainers and jockeys based on their participation and results in addition to containing other incentives for the connections of horses participating in multiple series races. The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge ultimately rewards the winners of the year-long series with a waiver of stakes fees at Penn Gaming tracks for an entire year as well as a trip to the Penn National Gaming owned M Resort in Las Vegas.
“Now that we have some established and emerging events, we wanted to come up with a way to link them and provide a collective awareness that spans all our tracks,” McErlean added. “Erich Zimny (Vice President of Racing Operations at Charles Town) has done a great job in bringing this series to fruition.”
The first event in the 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge takes place at Sam Houston on January 25 as the track plays host to the second running of the Houston Ladies Classic. The Saturday evening card will also feature the $200,000 Grade 3 John B. Connally Turf Cup and will be televised live by HRTV and Fox Sports Southwest.
Buoyed by three new event days and the richest thoroughbred race in the country outside of the Breeders’ Cup and Triple Crown, three of Penn National Gaming’s four thoroughbred tracks presently conducting live racing were able to post new single day record handles in their track’s histories this past year. The success of the events helped the quartet of tracks post a combined daily handle gain of 2.16% in 2013 when compared to 2012 figures.
“Over the last few years, we’ve made a concerted effort to increase the visibility of our signals, create marketable events and make the Penn Gaming racing brand one that carries more national appeal,” said Penn National Gaming’s Vice President of Racing Chris McErlean. “The results we’ve seen from a pari-mutuel standpoint indicate to us that we’ve found some good niches and we hope to build on it in 2014.”
Spearheading the charge was Hollywood Casino at Penn National Racecourse, whose inaugural Penn Mile card included not only the first running of the $500,000 Penn Mile, but also the $250,000 Mountainview Handicap and $150,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup. Penn Mile day shattered numerous pari-mutuel records, including the highest single card handle in track history, with $3,658,996 bet and the largest amount wagered on one race, when fans bet a total of $1,139,478 on the one mile turf event won by the Gary Contessa trained Rydilluc.
Penn Mile day was also part of a record year at the track as Penn National set a new all-time record for daily handle, with an average of $1,078,543 bet on Penn’s races over the course of the year. That figure also represented an increase of 6.43% over 2012.
Following in the footsteps of its sister track in Pennsylvania, Zia Park inaugurated its own new event in 2013 as the first Land of Enchantment Day took place on November 27. The card, which featured the first running of the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks, as well as the $200,000 Zia Park Derby, established a new all-time single card handle mark for the New Mexico track as the $1,548,165 wagered smashed the prior mark by nearly 50%.
Daily handle at Zia’s 2013 meet was up more than 10% over the 2012 season. Much like Penn National, Zia also showed a double digit increase in daily export handle when compared to last year.
The Charles Town Classic, run for the fifth time this past year and second time as a Grade 2 event, continues to set new wagering benchmarks at the West Virginia oval. Run for $1.5 million in purse money for the first time in 2013, the April 20 card produced an all-time record for a single, live program with $4,398,985 wagered. The Charles Town Classic itself set a single race record with a total of $1,286,188 put through the windows – a number that represents a higher handle than a staggering 1,471 full, completed live racing programs held at the track since 2007.
In addition to the Charles Town Classic, won by Game on Dude, the track’s other two marquee days, the Race for the Ribbon and West Virginia Breeders’ Classics, also produced the highest handles in the history of the individual events.
Though Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races fell less than a percentage point short in its bid for a third consecutive record settle total handle year, 2013 now stands as the second most successful pari-mutuel year for its live racing in the track’s 80-year history.
Sam Houston’s 2013 season saw the first running of the Houston Ladies Classic, the new centerpiece of the track’s stakes program. The $400,000 race drew the likes of Summer Applause, and eventual race winner Joyful Victory, who would go on to capture the Grade 1 Santa Margarita later in 2013.
The Penn Gaming tracks will look to capitalize on their collective success in 2014 with the inaugural Penn Gaming Racing Challenge binding six of the major event days across the four tracks. The series awards points to owners, trainers and jockeys based on their participation and results in addition to containing other incentives for the connections of horses participating in multiple series races. The Penn Gaming Racing Challenge ultimately rewards the winners of the year-long series with a waiver of stakes fees at Penn Gaming tracks for an entire year as well as a trip to the Penn National Gaming owned M Resort in Las Vegas.
“Now that we have some established and emerging events, we wanted to come up with a way to link them and provide a collective awareness that spans all our tracks,” McErlean added. “Erich Zimny (Vice President of Racing Operations at Charles Town) has done a great job in bringing this series to fruition.”
The first event in the 2014 Penn Gaming Racing Challenge takes place at Sam Houston on January 25 as the track plays host to the second running of the Houston Ladies Classic. The Saturday evening card will also feature the $200,000 Grade 3 John B. Connally Turf Cup and will be televised live by HRTV and Fox Sports Southwest.
