733 Yonkers Ave., Suite 102, Yonkers NY, 10704  Phone: 914-968-3599   Fax: 914-968-3943  
Latest News: Standardbred Owners Association of New York

STRONG EUROPEAN WAGERING TOTALS FOR YONKERS RACES IN 2016

Just under $18 million Euros were wagered on 32 race cards from Yonkers. Those programs were 20 Tuesday afternoons, 11 Sunday afternoons and one Saturday featuring the $1 million Yonkers International Trot. Each simulcast is a partial card of five to seven races, just trotters. Wagering on pacing races is not allowed in France.

An exciting addition in 2016 was the first commingled pools on a regular basis between Yonkers and the PMU. Win and show wagers began to be commingled on May 24. In total 12 Tuesdays, six Sundays and the Saturday card were commingled, resulting in $3.6 million Euros, or about $4 million Dollars, being added to the Yonkers North American win and show pools. The exchange rate fluctuates daily and in 2016 went from a high of $1.15 US Dollars per Euro to a low of $1.03 with an average of $1.10. Just two years ago that same exchange rate was approximately $1.36 US Dollars for each Euro.

"We're very pleased with how the relationship between Yonkers and the PMU and Le Trot has grown," said Bob Galterio, Vice President and General Manager of Yonkers Raceway. "We were thrilled to quickly begin commingling some pools in 2016 and look forward to more cooperation and collaboration in 2017."

There were larger field sizes and all different classes of races simulcast to France but the biggest factor in the wagering figures was the day of the week and the time of day the races were simulcast. With Paris normally six hours ahead of New York, the Sunday cards which started around 11:30AM in New York arrived in Paris at 5:30PM. The Tuesday French races were normally at 3PM at Yonkers which is 9PM in France.

"Just like here in the US, Sundays are very strong racing days in France and Tuesdays aren't as busy," explained SOA of NY Executive Director Alex Dadoyan. "Also, at least half of the betting locations do not stay open at night so the Sundays were much stronger as expected."

Send this story to a friend    News Archives