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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-08-16, Page 13ting about own e Ones in the tends to one night per week Goderich Raceway nal Park. ay operated byathe n d Trotting under 1 rter Ae issued by the Agricultural is seventh year of nd sillmaintains seems e incredible to eem onlooker• eoperation not only tremendous amount the track but alo (fort on the part 'le during the week. nal Park has seen on Wada/ holidays is mainly categorised as an oyerseer of the entire operation. An important part of his job is to obtain such officials as the presiding judge who , is a representative of the Canadian Trotting Association, two associate judges who represent the Ontario Racing Com- mission and the Goderich Raceway, the paddock judge who looks after the stable area, and the patrol judges who see that correct racing procedure is followed on the track while the race is in progress. • Other racing officials in- volved are two timers and two chartwriters. 'to ensure that the judges call the correct win- ner, there is a photo -finish camera constantly in operation. own horses in the race and when there are more than seven entries, they are selected according to their last race date. When there are entries in the same race with the same dates, the entry forms are turned up- side-down and the ` seven en- tries are selected or whatever number is needed for that par- ticular race. After the entries are deter- mined, the post positions must be picked, If there are seven en- tries in the race, numbered wooden peas are placed in a leather bottle. The numbers go from 1-7. These numbers are picked 'one by one by two hor- semen. At the same time they choose one of the seven entry dreds of betters and spectators. It is now that the whole heart of the raceway operation begins to pulsate with action and activity. The "nwtuels" o; betting area is the "bread .and butter" of the organization. It is at these betting windows that the raceway either succeeds or fails. "In Goderich, a total of $28,000 must be wagered during the .evening for the raceway to ,break even," accor- ding to Mutuel Manager.Ted Williams. As a better makes his choice or choices of the winning and/or place horses, he then has a choice of 15 ticket sellers to go to. There are seven feature sellers, which include the daily double and the exactor, one $4 combine seller, one $10 win and place seller, one $5 win and place, three $2 win«sellers and two. $2 place sellers. This year, a major change • has been made in the betting in Goderich. The "show" ticket has been dropped. Williams ex- plains that "in regular races the totalizer, or the computer, which tabulates the ticket sales on each horse, could not handle all three categories (win, place and show) because of the way it is programmed.. Secondly, in feature races, the exactor bets have proved most popular and thus the show category was not being efficiently used." As the better gives his or her selection and money to the ap- propriate ticket • seller, the seller electronically registers the ticket sale. These figures go into the computer totalizer which totals the amount ' of tickets sold on each horse of that race. The sellers' job . is very responsible as it is a duty to en= sure that the proper tickets are issued to the betting public. At least seven sellers here in Goderich have been with the. "raceway for five years or more. Four of them have been working here since the raceway's beginning in 1967. As the money from betting begins to add up, a precise but complicated system -of calculation takes over. 'The "odds man"' takes the total amount of money bet in' the win pool and the total amount bet on each horse and then refers to a government chart to determine- the odds on each horse and the win payaoff. The odds are calculated on the amount of money in the win thoDerich SIGNAL -STAR pool only. Between the official results of the previous race and the post time of the next race, the odds man will post from 8.- 10 readings by phoning the man in the tote board, .office located in front of the grand - stand so that the betting pyblic can easily see it. There are other calculators to tabulate the win and place payoff prices, as well as features. The payoff prices are double checked by officials of the - Pectoral Department of Agriculture. The calculations of the federal officiate, and the , track officials must agree (continued ors Page. 11A) As soon as the betting windows open Wednesday evening betters begin placing their wagers for the evening. Programs are available when patrons . arrive 'at the track and many cone -early to study those programs, listing the horses slated for each race with their past records, before making up their mind concerning what horses will carry their money. A' total of $28,000 must be wagered during the evening for the" raceway to break even according to Mutuel 'Manager Ted Williams.' (staff photo) ssch race gets underway the horses and drivers involved parade past the stands to wishing to place a wager one last chance to maks up their minds. Those wishing may place wagers right up to the last minute but as each race gets underway the ra' machines are automatically shut off. As the money comes in the Odds are on a board facing the grandstand (seen in the background) so patrons can keep Annoy wagered. Results Mid' tit1"cbmputed.payoffs are Glib posted on that board $111c11 race. (staff photo)----`--- r to 1897. However it ntil 1967 when 1-1.0. spearheaded the bring night racing to the problel is which m .and other men to this age-old sport tting up of the track o Racing Commission eral Department of re standards. To do t the expenditure 'of to improve track g-tharnight -racing good for the economy ch, the "town fathers" to lend the ral Association the n the condition that of it would be paid ,reason that only that as paid back was certain amount of the gents were made to belonging to the lf. ganizing the raceway, remained manager first- fouryears of During that 'time,' to the town was fully Today, the racetrack of the better lighting for night racing. major renovations 'e to the track area re ago. 'The cost of nges Was in excess of The front of the grand - removed and a new ith increased walking added along with Ways which accom-. the larger crowds. ch year the province grant or subsidy of 2,000 which is used for tenance of the track The actual .ariiount, of t is determined by the handle,or amount bet. the raceway's incep- 15 estimated that the, has received in the of a0,000 in taxes trent manager of the ono Erskine. His job •c•r:r Just as in any industry, the product, in this case racing, must be sold. This is the job of the advertising and promotion man. Also on staff are program and admission sellers; gatemen; electrical, carpentry and track maintenance person- nel and the concession booth workers. Some interesting figures at the track show that to meet payroll and race purses, it costs the .raceway around $5,500" just to open it s gates -each Wed- nesday. - • On an average night, the amount of money bet may total around $29,000 but the amount paid out might reach as high as $23,000. This means that with the expenditure of $5,500 the profit to ' the raceway would only be $500 which isn't much if the Next week is bad. It is figured that this year. $28,000 must be bet each Wednesday night for the raceway to break even. . Some other expenses of in- terest include the cost of the mutuel machine at $425, the starting gate $75, programmes at $312, light and power " around $60, wages $1,050 aid the announcer at $45. Another segment of the raceway operation is the entry and acceptance of the various, horses for each race -night, This, job is in the capable hands of Don Masse and his wife Gayle. Prior to the closing date for upcoming race entries, the hor- semen are given condition sheets .are state the G,lassification of each, horse ac- cording to the amount of money that horse has won during the current racing season. For exam/it-6,4 horse which -has- not=_ won at least $100 would be classified as 1, whereas a horse which 'has won between $900 and $1800 would be classified as 6. The .condition sheet also states what the purse is valued at for each classification race. The horsemen enter their forms lying upside-down on the table. This determines which horse gets what post position. One horseman draws the numbers out while the other picks ` the entries. Each horse has an eligibility card . with the previous race lines on -it. These cards are put in racing order and sent to the printers so that they can be en- tered into the racing programmes. tn the paddock, race night, the numbers that the horses wear during the race are given out. To protect the betting public a veterinarian represent ting the Ontario Racing Com- mission examines the winning horses after each race and takes' urine tests. As race time, draws near, the track comes alive with hun- Wednesday.. afternoon the courtyard of the -Agricultural Park stables begins becomes jammed with horses and drivers making final preparations. (staff to come to life as horses, ow rs and drivers arrive from throughout Western photo) Ontario to prepare for the evning's races. As post time approaches the yard "The fleWs in motion and they're off?" for Goderich Raceway. What began as one of the annual of the century has grown info a weekly specfacii at another night of harness racksg at exhibition attraction around the tum Agriculture Park filling the bleachers every wedneeday wfh avid raospoersr. Hartness rear* Mas grown in popsilarlly all awes. North America and since 1967 has been gaining an ever strengthening foothold in Goderloh• (staff photo)