Woodbine Entertainment’s fan-favourite, Racing Night Live, has made a comeback last Friday on TNS.
With live harness racing being given the go-ahead in Ontario, Woodbine Entertainment has endeavoured to broadcast all the standardbred and thoroughbred races on television. As a result, all the racing action from Woodbine Mohawk Park and Woodbine Racetrack is now broadcast on TSN, as part of the much-loved Racing Night Live, presented by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
Racing Night Live is the brainchild of Woodbine entertainment CEO, Jim Lawson, and a former company employee, Christina Litz. The programme was initially broadcast on Thursday evenings due to the lack of other live sports events on that day, with TNS taking up the opportunity to live-stream these events.
Racing Night Live On-Air
Racing Night Live has made its long-awaited return to TSN on Friday, 18 June, at 7 pm ET. The broadcast showcases live harness racing from both Woodbine tracks for two hours. Jim Lawson stated that the TV show enjoyed great success last year, and it propelled the local horse races to the next level.
Lawson explained that thanks to his and Christina Litz’s good relationship with TSN, and the lack of other sporting events for broadcasting, the live programme came to life. Nonetheless, the production needed sponsors to make a debut, with industry partners such as the HBPA, OLG, and COSA immediately helping out. Additionally, the show has also been supported by other Woodbine Entertainment partners such as Budweiser, Kraft-Heinz, and Pepsi.
After overcoming several obstacles prior to its first airing, the show debuted on TSN on 11 June 2020, thus becoming Canada’s first live TV sporting event following the outbreak of the current pandemic. The fact that no other sporting events were being broadcast had a significant impact on the show’s success, with sports fans starved for any kind of action. As a result, the horseracing industry attracted many new followers.
Lawson said that he is excited for this year’s edition of Racing Night Live. Subsequently, there will be a total of 15 shows this season. Following the first three broadcasts, there will be a three-week pause due to the Summer Olympics taking place in Tokyo. Lawson remains optimistic that the new season will be as successful as the previous one.
