King’s Plate generates largest handle in Woodbine history

The 164th King’s Plate generated the largest single-card handle in Woodbine history Sunday.

About US$13.8 million was wagered on Sunday’s 13-race King’s Plate card, eclipsing the previous record of about $133 million from the 2019 Queen’s Plate. The record handle is also a significant increase from last year’s Queen’s Plate handle of $10 million.

“It’s exciting to have ushered in a new era for the Plate in record-breaking fashion,” said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. “We felt good about the buzz surrounding the first King’s Plate in over 70 years and that was clearly backed up on Sunday through the energy of our sold-out crowd and the wagering support.”

The King’s Plate race, won by Paramount Prince, brought in $3.3 million in wagering, including a record win pool of about $870,000. The 17-horse field for the Plate was the largest since 2011.

The strong wagering numbers for the King’s Plate card can be attributed to many areas across the board.

The on-track handle spiked 17.6 per cent, while Woodbine’s entire home-market area brought in about $2.2 million in wagering, an 8.6 per cent increase from 2022. The foreign market wagered $10.7 million, up significantly from $7.6 million in 2022.

“Our racing team did a great job putting together a competitive and appealing Plate card for horseplayers,” Lawson said. “I’m very proud of our entire team behind the scenes at Woodbine for their efforts. Now we aim to carry this momentum through the remainder of the season and the upcoming major stakes in September and October.”