Woodbine all-sources handle declines amid 'headwinds'

Woodbine Entertainment's 2023 Thoroughbred season produced an all-sources handle of about US$450 million. This is the second largest single-season handle in Woodbine’s history, but it's down US$5.9 million from 2022.

“Our 2023 Thoroughbred racing meet produced very strong results thanks to our exciting racing product, the strength of the Woodbine brand, and the hard work of our team and the entire horse racing community,” Woodbine CEO Michael Copeland said. “The results are especially encouraging considering the industry trends our sport is facing with increased competition from sports betting, growing purses in some jurisdictions largely due to ancillary gaming revenues, extreme weather factors that have cancelled an unprecedented number of race cards, North American horse supply, and larger macroeconomic factors like inflation and the uncertainty of the U.S. dollar.

“While we are proud of our results, we cannot be complacent, and we need to focus on the industry trends and other opportunities that will help us navigate these headwinds.”

In 2023, a 1,180 races were contested over 128 dates of racing compared to 1,198 races over 132 dates in 2022. Woodbine ran four fewer dates and 18 fewer races in 2023 due to an unprecedented five cancelled race cards because of extreme heat and poor air quality caused by smoke from forest fires across Canada.

The average field size for those races was 8.2, the same as 2022 and above the industry average.

In Ontario, wagering on Woodbine Thoroughbred racing by customers across the province was down 6.2 percent to US$60.1 million.

The decline in home-market wagering was partially mitigated by a foreign market handle of US$376.2 million, a decrease from US$378.4 million in 2022, though still a remarkable gain from the previous record of US$309 million in 2021. The foreign market handle was supported by a strong U.S. dollar.