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HBPA, Simulcast Revenue Fuel Purse Increases At Tampa Bay Downs

Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla. will increase purses for all races except stakes by approximately 10-percent beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 16, track Vice President-General Manager Peter Berube announced Wednesday.

The increase will be $1,500 for maiden special weight and allowance races and $1,000 for claiming and starter races.

“Thanks to the efforts of former (Tampa Bay Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association) President Bob Jeffries and the approval of their board, we were able to build a substantial cushion in the purse account before the current meeting,” Berube said.

“Our export (simulcast) business has been strong since racing returned on Nov. 25 and is up 29 percent to date,” Berube said.

“We were projecting a 30-35-percent decrease in on-track wagering on live and simulcast racing to start the meeting and those projections have been correct, but the actions of the Tampa Bay HBPA and the popularity of our signal across the country enable us to feel comfortable raising purses starting next week,” Berube said.

Through the first six cards since the 2020-2021 meeting resumed, Tampa Bay Downs has averaged $3,719,055 in daily interstate wagering. The total wagering handle on Saturday's 10-race card was a Cotillion Festival Day record $6,128,282, of which $5,702,369 was through interstate wagering.

Around the oval: Tampa Bay Downs currently races on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule, with Sundays added to the mix on Dec. 20. Additionally, the track will conduct a Thursday card on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, and be closed Christmas, Dec. 25.

Otherwise, Tampa Bay Downs is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.

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COVID-19: Zia Park To Resume Live Racing Dec. 2, Overnight Purses Boosted 30 Percent

In accordance with recently revised business reopening guidelines issued by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Zia Park will resume live racing on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Post time at the Hobbs, N.M. track is slated for 12:00 PM Mountain Time.

Racing at Zia Park was prematurely suspended on Nov. 16, and remained suspended through Nov. 30 by Gov. Grisham's order to cease in-person non-essential activities due to COVID-19 spikes in the area.

Zia Park will also race Thursday, Dec. 3 (a previously rescheduled race date), and then maintain a Monday through Wednesday schedule through its final live racing program on Dec. 23.

Overnight purses starting with the December 2 live card will be increased 30 percent from their previously advertised amounts, pending approval by the New Mexico Racing Commission.

The Zia Park barn area will remain open until Dec. 31, 2020 with the racetrack itself closed for training after Dec. 23.

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Canterbury Requests 65-Date Season For 2021, Purses Projected To Return To Pre-COVID Levels

Canterbury Park racing officials have submitted a request to the Minnesota Racing Commission for 65 racing dates in 2021 beginning May 18 and running through Sept. 16. With the request came the caveat that future impacts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may necessitate an amendment to the request. Horsemen purses are projected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels of approximately $220,000 per day, a 13 percent increase over the $195,000 per day in 2020. The meet would feature both thoroughbred and quarter horse racing.

Canterbury Park's 2020 race meet was delayed and shortened but once commencing on June 10 the meet ran uninterrupted for 53 days through Sept. 17 with limited spectators.

“We intend to run a more typical 65-day meet in 2021,” Vice President of Racing Operations Andrew Offerman said. “We have learned a lot about safely conducting a racing season during very trying circumstances. We will build on that knowledge next season knowing that there may be subsequent changes and alterations to the schedule. However, it is important for the racing industry to understand our intention to run a 65-day meet from mid-May through mid-September.”

With a capacity limit of 750 spectators in the recently concluded meet, track officials moved off the traditional Thursday through Sunday schedule and conducted racing Monday through Thursday evenings. The result was a 116 percent increase in out-of-state wagering handle. The request for 2021 is for a Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday schedule with racing on Memorial Day and Labor Day as well as Saturday, July 3.

Canterbury Park's live racing success has been predicated on live crowds averaging more than 6,500 per day generating food, beverage, handle and admission revenues crucial to supporting a race meet that employs more than 1,000 workers, the majority of which was lost in 2020.

“We fully understand the severity and serious nature of the ongoing pandemic; however we remain optimistic and are planning a 2021 season for what might be possible,” Vice President of Marketing John Groen said. “Should venues like Canterbury Park be allowed to safely increase attendance capacity, Sunday afternoon would provide an opportunity to reintroduce popular family promotions tied to live horse racing that we are known for.”

Sunday afternoon racing in 2021 would replace Mondays which produced the weakest results during Canterbury Park's 2020 meet. In past years, promotions such as corgi dog races and fireworks displays have attracted crowds three times larger than the daily average.

The 2021 schedule also includes a nine-day break to accommodate Twin Cities Summer Jam, a three-day music festival held in the racetrack infield July 22 through 24. The event was first held in 2019 but postponed in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

The Minnesota Racing Commission, a nine-member panel appointed by the state's governor tasked with overseeing the integrity and safety of horse racing at Minnesota's two pari-mutuel racetracks, is expected to consider Canterbury's race date request at its December meeting. Minnesota Administrative Rule 7872.0100 required Canterbury Park to submit for 2021 racing dates no later than Nov. 15, 2020.

Canterbury Park's 24/7 card casino and simulcast racebook remain open daily. For more information visit www.canterburypark.com.

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CHRB: Justify, Hoppertunity Scopolamine Hearings Set For Thursday, Oct. 29

The stewards at Santa Anita Park will conduct hearings Thursday, Oct. 29, beginning at 10 a.m. to consider two complaints filed by the California Horse Racing Board seeking the disqualifications of two horses, Justify and Hoppertunity, from their victories in races run in 2018. The complaints also seek redistributions of the purses from those races.

The CHRB will not be filing a complaint against trainer Bob Baffert, due to substantial evidence that the scopolamine positives resulted from environmental contamination from jimson weed.

The hearing for disqualification is a condition of a settlement agreement between the CHRB and Ruis Racing LLC, the owner of Bolt d'Oro, the horse that finished second behind Justify in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 7, 2018. In that matter, the CHRB is represented by counsel from the Office of the California Attorney General.

In addition, the CHRB is seeking the disqualification of Hoppertunity, winner of the Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita on April 8, 2018, and the redistribution of that purse based on laboratory findings that his post-race sample for that race tested positive for scopolamine. While not the subject of current litigation, this medication positive was similar to the one involving Justify. Baffert trained both horses.

Due to COVID-19, all witnesses are expected to testify remotely. The public will not be allowed to attend the hearings in person but can hear and view the proceedings through the following link: http://www.chrb.ca.gov/Live.html

Clicking the link will bring up a “Register” screen asking for the guest's name and e-mail address. A confirmation link granting both audio and visual access to the hearings will be sent to the e-mail address provided. Registration will begin at 9:45 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

The two hearings will be conducted concurrently. Depending on the number of witnesses testifying and presenting evidence, the hearings could last more than one day. The stewards likely will issue their decisions at some later date.

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