Grand River Raceway season up 25 per cent; Top Performers honoured

Grand River Raceway closed the book on its 2020 season on September 25, celebrating a 25 per cent bump in handle.

All source wagering on Grand River Raceway’s live racing for the 2020 meet was $12,953,560 for a daily average of $269,866, an increase of 25 per cent over last season. The average nightly handle was the highest in the history of Grand River Raceway. In 2019, 48 race dates were conducted and $10,382,493 was wagered. A total of 489 races were conducted this year, one less than last year.

Total purses paid for all races at Grand River Raceway were $4,747,114 – down marginally from the 2019 season.

Scott Coulter won the title as the leading driver at Grand River Raceway. The Brantford, ON resident won 47 races in 271 starts. A long time participant at Grand River Raceway, Coulter has over 5,300 victories and an excess of $35 million in purse earnings throughout a career that began in 1995.

Trainer Richard Moreau recorded 17 wins and trained horses to purse earnings of $112,396 to win the dash title in 2020. During the summer, Moreau eclipsed 6,000 wins and $60 million in career purse earnings. He has been named Canada’s Trainer of the Year in each of the last seven years.

‘In late Spring, with the COVID-19 lockdowns still in place, I did not expect to race a full season, let alone break an all source wagering record. The grooms, trainers, drivers and Grand River Raceway staff were excellent at maintaining pandemic protocols throughout the meet. I want to thank customers throughout North America for supporting our meet with their wagering dollars.’ – James Martin, Director of Operations, Grand River Raceway.

Dates for Grand River Raceway’s 2021 race season will be released in the new year. The facility is in the process of re-opening for simulcast wagering. For information on re-opening plans, refer to www.grandriverraceway.com.