NEWS
North Dakota Horse Park reports best meeting
Posted: Thursday, September 10, 2009 1:19 PM
The North Dakota Horse Park registered numerous wagering records at its meet that concluded on Monday.
Despite canceling one day of its scheduled 16-day meeting because of heavy rain, the Fargo, North Dakota, track set records for total handle and attendance at its summer meeting.
Total on-track handle was up 48% to $415,880 while total attendance for the meet reached 57,000, or 3,800 a day. Average daily handle was up 58% to $41,086.
“We had a 12% increase from 2007 to ‘08, so to jump 48% in 2009 is just astounding,” said General Manager Heather Benson. “Considering that nationwide wagering on racing is down double digits in this economy, we are very, very happy with our 2009 numbers.”
Jockey Jake Olesiak won his fourth straight riding title by guiding home 34 winners. The 21-year-old rider from Cloquet, Minnesota, broke his own record for winners on a card by winning seven of the nine races on July 25. Dave Bernhardt of Wishek, North Dakota, finished as leading trainer with 12 winners during the meet that includes Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing.
