New horse racing track betting on success of accompanying casino to fill purses and stands
It was 8 a.m. on April Fools’ Day when the new Century Mile complex called the Edmonton media to the post for the official opening of the only mile-distance horse racing track West of Woodbine.
The question was always going to be: ‘If they build it, will they come?’
Well, they built it. And they at least came to the casino.
After 118-years of horse racing at the site that became Northlands Park, it was the official opening of the combined casino-horse racing facility that overlooks the Red Tail Landing golf course to the East off QEII highway, with the Edmonton International Airport to the West.
That’s a long drive to make a $2 bet. But the big bet involved with the new facility is that the casino will be so successful that the purse structure for the horse racing will rise dramatically with it and with that, the horse population will grow and then the crowds will come.
Monday morning, a red carpet was stretched at the front of the building. Guests were greeted by plumed, Las Vegas-style, showgirls and a three-piece band.
As you entered, it was the same sensation provided in any of the Glitter Gulch casinos in Sin City with absolutely no hint whatsoever there might, indeed, be a horse race track out there somewhere.
At the ground floor location that will be transformed into a multi-track betting parlor similar to that at Uplinks at Northlands, the area was set-up with chairs arranged for a press conference.
When the speeches by various dignitaries concluded, everybody in attendance was given a flute of champagne and a toast to the next 100 years of horse racing in the Alberta was made.
Everybody then trooped outside for the official ribbon cutting. Then the doors opened and the casino filled.
Casino hours go from 9:30 a.m. to 3 a.m., and if Day 1 was any indication with a busy casino and both parking lots – featuring 700 paved and 700 unpaved stalls packed through much of the day – it was a great launch for that part of he operation.
You had to go up to the second floor or outside to the apron to get any sense that you were also at a racetrack. And it became quite clear immediately that this is going to be a major adjustment.
A steady stream of horses was having morning workouts and for those used to the ‘bull ring’ tracks, like Northland Park or Hastings Park in Vancouver, it will probably look like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You’re not right on top of it. And without the tight turns, you wonder about the excitement that might be lost.
Binocular sales should boom.
