Turfway Park will end its experiment with Saturday night racing effective Jan. 14.
The Kentucky racetrack began racing at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays about a year ago in an effort to boost on-track business. Officials have said on-track business—wagering and food and beverage—were healthy, but pari-mutuel handle through other outlets suffered.
Turfway holds its weekly stakes on Saturdays. Post time beginning Jan. 14 will switch to 1:10 p.m. EST, officials said Jan. 11.
“The evening post did help us reach a different group of customers, but with the most popular import signals clustered in the afternoon hours, the later post had an adverse effect on our in-state outlets and our national simulcast business,” Turfway president Bob Elliston said. “We have always been willing to try new approaches, and we will continue to look for ways to shake up tradition and create new business.”
Other post times are unchanged: 5:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and 1:10 p.m. Sundays. In February and March, Turfway will race only three days a week on a Friday-through-Sunday schedule.
For its December 2011 holiday meet, Turfway reported gains in on-track wagering and well as all-sources handle.