By Keith Dempsey for The Post.com.
It’s been two years for Steve Fitzsimmons as general manager of Hanover Raceway – with both years during a pandemic.
“It was good,” Fitzsimmons said. “We weren’t allowed fans for the first month (due to COVID-19 restrictions) but then after that we were allowed to have a certain amount of fans, up to 635 a week.”
Unfortunately, Hanover Raceway never reached that number for attendance this season, but Fitzsimmons said he believes that’s due to some of the public still having some hesitancy to come out in major numbers.
“Which is understandable,” Fitzsimmons said. “And I think they were enjoying our product on television at home as well, so I think that was part of it also.”
Hanover Raceway’s wagering in Canada was up 15.28 per cent this season, which is the raceway’s second most successful wagering season in the last 30 years.
“I think people have responded to the quality of our product,” Fitzsimmons said. “When you put on a good show, especially one people can watch and wager from home, they give it more time, and we have a very competitive group of horses that race here week in and week out, and when we can showcase them in the best light possible, people enjoy that.
“And we make it fun. We have contests. We just have fun. We don’t take ourselves seriously. At the end of the day, we’re entertainment. We want people to love watching our product and enjoy it. It’s like a three-hour TV show. That’s what our goal is. Mission accomplished. We’re pretty proud of what we’ve done.”
Sept. 18 saw its highest attendance this year, with 500 fans attending to see Hanover Raceway wrap up its 15-week season with a charity barbecue after the races. Then, Owen Riegling and his band hit the stage for a free two-hour concert.
The charity barbecue was held in support of the Hanover Public Library and ended up raising $1,000.
“That was our season high in terms of how many people were here,” Fitzsimmons said. “I think it was an enthusiastic smaller group for the most part (of the season), 300 to 400 on an average week. The people at home that watched, I think they enjoyed it from that experience as well.
“Next year, hopefully whoever would like to come feels comfortable to come. I think this year there was definitely people who didn’t feel right about it yet, for whatever their reasons, but we respect their reasons and we’re glad they were able to support us from home or in person.”
Hanover Raceway also had their year-end awards on Sept. 18. Driver Travis Henry received the Bud Fritz Rising Star Award for his efforts. The award recognizes up and coming trainers or drivers who show strong potential to be a future star in the industry.
Henry won 12 races and almost $70,000 in purse money at Hanover Raceway this season. Members of the Fritz family and Fitzsimmons presented him with the award.
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