Century Mile opener falls a little short of expectations

But planned entry list for Sunday is out, with new lineup of eight races, 68 horses

Century Mile is not the first to over-promise and under-deliver in the history of professional sports.

But with a spotlight on the place that isn’t likely to exist to such an extent again for quite some time, it turned out to be a classic case of not being able to turn a wish list into a dish list.

Because of horse racing being the first pro sport back in the province, and the way other North American tracks have been seizing their moments in similar circumstances, Century Mile over-promised on the possibilities for Sunday’s opening day by two complete races and about 52 horses.

Norm Castiglione, head of the Horseman’s Benevolent Protective Association, projected one week ago when the government gave the track the go-ahead to start the season on Father’s Day that the program for the return of racing here would make a significant statement.

“A 10-race card with full fields for every race is our goal for opening day,” Castiglione said at the time, of filling the 12-horse gates from start to finish in the 5:15 p.m. post-time event. “For the rest of the summer, our goal is to produce eight race cards with an average of eight horses each race.” The entry list for Sunday is out. Eight races.

Sixty-eight horses.

Not bad for a normal race day. But …

The first three races will have seven-horse fields. The next three will feature eight entries. Eleven horses will go to the post in the seventh. And a full 12 have entered for the eighth.

“It’s just hard to do with an overnight purse of $85,000,” a disappointed Castiglione said of the money available without proceeds from casino betting in the last three months combined with having 400 horses currently on the property.

If it were the entry list for either next Friday, for Day 2, or next Sunday, for Day 3, or any other day of the 40-day meet this COVID -19-shortened season, other than Canadian Derby day, nobody would have a problem.

“If we can maintain the entries for the rest of the cards this year, we will be extremely happy,” is how Castiglione put it.

Century Mile director of racing Paul Ryneveld originally said a 10-race card was indeed planned.

“We had two other prospective races, but the way it worked out when the entry box closed, we would only have had six horses in each race. We decided to bring those two races forward for next Friday.”

Ryneveld said both the HBPA and the racetrack are determined to bring the size of field and quality of product up this year, despite the challenges.

“Last year, we averaged 6.8 starters a race and we have 8.5 on our opening-day card. Eight is the magic number for horse players to pay attention.”

The hope was to really get their attention with an opening-day blockbuster card and to get the same kind of betting action as Winnipeg’s Assiniboia Downs that next week will double last year’s entire season total of $12,467,854, and had a handle of at least $1 million a night until a storm hit Winnipeg, caused a power outage and forced cancellation of three races Wednesday.

Ryneveld is still hoping to open with a million-dollar handle at the track that averaged a handle of $172,422 last year and hit a high of $838,429 for the Canadian Derby.

“We think there is a very good shot at having a million-dollar handle. I would be more optimistic if we’d started with this card two weeks ago when there was less competition out there from other tracks. But I think these are good betting races and we’ll have a shot at it.”

Ryneveld said while Century Mile may have lost two races from it’s planned opener, when it comes to off-track betting, and that’s all they have with no fans in the stands, they’ve actually gained an entire companion race card.

Century Casino recently bought the Mountaineer track in West Virginia that’s been in existence since 1951 and has the claim to fame of being the first racetrack ever to feature slot machines. This will be the first race meet as a Century property.

The reason for the 5:15 p.m. start time here is to dovetail with the 7 p.m. ET post for the Sunday night Mountaineer races. They’ll alternate races, with the hope of combining the betting action.

The Mountaineer will also feature eight races with 10 horses in each of the first four, two with nine and two with eight.

While other pro sports are trying to figure out how to make it all work without fans in the stands, horse racing is figuring out ways to make it pay.