Woodbine concludes first Polytrack meet

Woodbine ended its 2006 Thoroughbred meet on December 10, ushering in the era

of Polytrack in Canada. The Toronto track started its meet on July 8, but ran 29

days on the Standardbred oval while the Polytrack was being installed.

The first day of Polytrack racing came on August 30, with $157,445,000 of

total handle registered from that point forward. That showed an increase of 4.2

percent when compared to the $151,152,000 recorded during that same period in

2005. Average field size once racing was moved to the Polytrack was 9.2 horses

per race, compared to an average of 8.5 horses per race for the 2005 meet.

The $333,489,534 all-sources total handle for the entire 162-day meet, which

began on April 1, fell 8.6 percent from

the $364,750,930 registered in 2005.

"We had a slow start to the year, but after Polytrack was installed we really

noticed an improvement in our key numbers like handle and field size," said Sean

Pinsonneault, vice-president of wagering services for Woodbine Entertainment

Group. "We have some momentum going into 2007."