As you may already know, the Gold Cup and Saucer was postponed Saturday night due to a torrential downpour which washed out the track. All wagers were refunded and the race was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, previously scheduled to be a dark day.
So Sunday came, and the gates were opened for the one race card. One would figure for a one race card, the race would likely be raced in front of a mostly empty track, perhaps a few horsemen and die hard fans.
If you saw the the race or replay of this year's edition of the Gold Cup and Saucer which was won by Take It Back Terry in 1:50.4 you'd be amazed as to how many people attended the race. Make no mistake, not as big a crowd as there would have been if the race was contested Saturday night but it was still an impressive crowd, a crowd most North American tracks would die for; this for one race alone. The apron was pretty much full, people standing all around the outside of the track for most of its circumference.
As for wagering, a total of $42,397 was wagered on the race; not money carried over from the night before; all wagered on Sunday. Granted this was a special race, but this handle in Atlantic Canada would be cause for envy at all but the most major standardbred tracks in North America.
They are doing something right at Charlottetown Driving Park. Now if we can figure out how to have this type of event in the rest of the continent, the sport would be in good shape.
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