Charlottetown, PEI — Red Shores is looking to build on recent momentum for wagering on the live racing product in 2021.

“We were quite pleased with the wagering on our live racing last year, particularly with most of the season operating with limited on track capacity,” commented Lee Drake, Manager of Racing and Broadcast. “We have had some great engagement from fans especially through our digital platforms and we are really looking forward to the start of the meet.”

The wagering during the 2020-21 meet posted an increase of 15 percent on 97 race dates.

In an effort to explore further growth opportunities in 2021, Red Shores has contracted the assistance of Bluslate Inc.  Bluslate is run by Sean Pinsonneault, a highly experienced racing executive who has been working with tracks and innovators for the betterment of the sport. He was previously Chief Operating Officer of Woodbine, Chairman of Racetracks of Canada and has participated on several international committees and industry boards.

“We think there is a real opportunity here,” continued Drake. “We did some work together during the winter meet in 2020 and we feel Bluslate will provide the necessary resources and skills to make an impact on the positioning of our racing.”

“We are thrilled to be working with the Red Shores team,” said Pinsonneault, president of Bluslate Inc. “The team is eager to make a difference and open to new ideas which is a great place to start. So much of Canada’s harness racing has links to the ‘Kentucky of Canada’ — Prince Edward Island. There is a great opportunity to leverage that heritage and build something really special.”

The initiative will involve working together with horsemen and other racing stakeholders throughout the process as alignment and support will be an important part of the success.

The 2021 racing meet begins at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park on May 8 at 6 p.m. while Red Shores Summerside opens on Monday (May 24) at 1 p.m. For the complete race schedule, post times and live broadcasts go to redshores.ca.