THE much talked about Sunday race meeting which was promoted last weekend at Caymanas Park had what has been described by an official of Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) as having moderate success in terms of turnover at the tote and the Offtrack Betting Parlours (OTBs) which were open across the island on the day.

The nine-race programme generated sales of $24.6m, making for a spend of approximately $2.7m per race. The last time there was a Sunday race card – January 29, 2012, nine races were also offered to the betting public for wagering, a total of $17.04m was collected by the promoting company as sales for the day for an average per race amount of just under $2m. Betting for that January 2012 Sunday race day was confined only to patrons who attended at Caymanas Park as the OTBs were not allowed to open then.

The handle for last Sunday’s race meeting compares favourably with sales for the more established Wednesday programmes. The Sunday handle of $24.6 spread across nine races is matched against $20. 8m which was recorded on Wednesday, July 24, 2013, when nine races were offered as well.

The CTL official said although the figures were better than any previous Sunday racedays, the company was expecting a more favourable response from the public. “We are fairly happy with the Sunday handle, as the figure of $24.6 is not bad at all; it bodes well for the future. Now we are going to analyse the situation to ensure an even better performance when we promote another Sunday programme,” the CTL official said.

The annual racing calendar which is offered for public scrutiny at the start of each year does not list another Sunday race meeting for the rest of the year, although the calendar comes with the proviso that it is subject to change.