By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs
The first week of live racing at Batavia Downs produced some very impressive numbers for betting and attendance, showing a dramatic spike over last year.
After the last race on Sunday was over the track had realized: a 27-percent increase of on-track handle; a 6.8-percent increase on export betting; WROTB handle up a total of 12 percent; total betting up 11 percent; and attendance up 16 percent.
“Where we are very pleased with all of our handle numbers, the most impressive stat might be the attendance,” said Todd Haight, director/general manager of Live Racing at Batavia Downs.
“Our opening night crowd was unbelievable and that carried over into the weekend. We had the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) and some really nice weather which helped, but there is a definite buzz about our championship meet in the area this year.”
The Batavia Downs summer/fall meet continues on Wednesday (July 31) with post time at 5 p.m. The highlight of this year’s racing session is the $1.8 million NYSS Night of Champions that will be held at the Downs on Saturday (Sept. 14).
