As live harness racing made its official comeback in Ontario, Woodbine Entertainment will be providing both Thoroughbred and Standardbred races on television. The company’s equine racing action from its Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park will be broadcasted again on TSN, as the fan-favorite Racing Night Live presented by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation returns this Friday.
Racing Night Live came to existence thanks to Woodbine Entertainment’s CEO Jim Lawson and Christina Litz who is a former employee of the company. The initial idea was to broadcast live horse racing on Thursday evenings, and due to the lack of other live sporting events, and TSN was extremely fond of the idea to live stream the events.
On Air
Starting from this Friday, June 18, at 7 p.m. ET, Racing Night Live presented by the Crown agency will make its long-awaited return on TSN. The broadcast will show-case live harness racing from both tracks for approximately two hours. Mr. Lawson stated that the tv show enjoyed a great launch last year and it transcended the province’s horse races to the next level.
The CEO explained that thanks to his and Ms. Litz’s great relationship with the channel, and the lack of another sporting for broadcasting the live program came to life. But still, the production needed sponsors in order to make its debut, and industry partners such as the OLG, HBPA, and COSA immediately helped out, additionally, the show was also supported by Woodbine Entertainment’s partners such as Kraft-Heinz, Budweiser, and Pepsi.
After several obstacles prior to its official first airtime, the show debuted on TSN on June 11, 2020, and it was the country’s first live sporting event on TV after the beginning of the unprecedented situation. The fact that there were no other sporting events had a major part in the show’s success as many sports fans were starving for any kinds of competitions, this way the horse racing industry has also attracted a new wave of fans.
Mr. Lawson said that he is very excited for this year’s edition of Racing Night Live which will be starting this Friday. There will be a total of 15 shows for the season, and after the first three broadcasts, there will be a three-week break due to the Summer Olympics and 10 more shows. The CEO is optimistic that the new season can be as good and successful as the previous one.
Thoroughbred season
After several months of pause, Woodbine Entertainment’s Thoroughbred season at Woodbine Racetrack has finally begun last weekend on June 12, 2021. Fans are still unable to attend the exciting live harness races, however, they still can watch the competitions live on the company’s official website, on HPIbet.com, or the Dark Horse app. The season started off with an 11-race card on Saturday and 13 on Sunday.
Schedule Update
Due to the delayed start of the Thoroughbred season, Woodbine Racetrack unveiled some changes to its stakes calendar. The CA$500,000 Woodbine Oaks sponsored by Budweiser has been rescheduled with a week to August 1. However, the biggest events remain with the same date, and The Queen’s Plate for example keeps its starting date of August 22.
Source: “Racing Night Live presented by OLG returns this Friday on TSN”, Past the Wire, June 16, 2021
