Fort Erie approved for 40 racing days
Prince of Wales Stakes tentatively set to run in late September
Fort Erie Race Track has been approved for 40 race days in 2021, the same as last year.
As was also the case in 2020, the thoroughbred track’s signature event — the Prince of Wales Stakes — will be delayed by about two months.
“As of right now, we have not set a date for the Prince of Wales Stakes, as we feel there are too many unknowns with COVID-19,” said Antonietta Culic, the track’s manager of marketing and media relations. “We do suspect that will be in September.”
Normally, the second jewel in Canadian horse racing’s Triple Crown takes place three weeks after the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. That race is scheduled to take place Sunday, Sept. 22.
Before the pandemic affected training and racing schedules, the Queen’s Plate was traditionally held in late June, the Prince of Wales in July and Breeders’ Stakes, the final leg in the threerace series for three-year-olds bred in Canada, in August, also at Woodbine.
COVID-19 restrictions made both tracks off-limits to spectators in 2020. Before restrictions were eased to permit some owners to watch their horses, only personnel essential to the care and well-being of the animals were permitted at the tracks on race days.
It’s far too early to say whether the ban on spectators will carry over into the 2021 season.
“Our hope for this season would be to once again open up to fans for race days,” Culic said. “However, we will have to follow provincial guidelines regarding spectators.
“Our priority will be once again operating a racing season as safely as possible for our staff and horse people.”
Wagering made it possible for thoroughbred racing to operate without fans in the pandemic. Upwards of 80 per cent of revenue at the Fort Erie track has come from wagering, with most of those bets placed off-site.
In comparison, organizations such as the Canadian Football League, Intercounty Baseball League and indoor lacrosse leagues across the country, whose revenues depend primarily on ticket sales, cancelled their entire seasons due to COVID-19.
Last year only underscored the importance of wagering to the track’s bottom line. Betting during Fort Erie’s 123rd season was up by about 40 per cent on a per-race basis, with more than $2,093,000 wagered on an eight-race card opening day, Tuesday, June 2.
Besides representing a 70 per cent increase over opening day 2019, that total was the secondbest wagering day since the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium took over operation of the track in 2013.
Only the $2.188-million wagered on a nine-race program highlighted by the Prince of Wales Stakes in ’16 attracted more interest from bettors.
In ’20, Fort Erie enjoyed a record year in terms of betting. A total of $40.2 million was wagered over 39 days, up from the $29.9 million over 40 race days in ’19.
There were 15 days on last year’s racing calendar that had more than $1 million wagered.
Horse counts were up by “about 10 per cent” last year, said Culic.
Fort Erie, likewise, was successful in following COVID-19 protocols and operating safely during the pandemic.
“We had a backstretch community with close to 500 essential horsepeople and more than 100 active staff members, and we were able to complete our meet safely and without any positive COVID-19 cases,” noted Tom Valiquette, chief operating and financial officer for the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium.
“Through the efforts of every one of our team members, we were able to put on another successful season during one of the most challenging years in our history.”
Fans were able to follow all the on-track action via high-definition livestreams. Wagering was also available online as the Ontario horse-racing industry adjusted to operating during the coronavirus pandemic.
About 60 to 70 jobs, mostly in food and beverage, parimutuel wagering and housekeeping, were affected though by closing the track to spectators.
Both the Canadian Triple Crown and its U.S. counterpart — the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes — are similar in distance but run on different racing surfaces: Queen’s Plate, 1 1⁄4 miles, Tapeta, synthetic; Prince of Wales, 1 3⁄16 miles, dirt; Breeders’ Stakes, 1 1⁄2 miles, turf.