Positive trends at Woodbine Mohawk Park for the Pepsi North America Cup
by Melissa Keith
Pepsi North America Cup night is always one of the year’s top cards at Woodbine Mohawk Park and across North America. Even a cursory glance at the crowd makes it clear that fans and bettors who otherwise play from home, at OTBs or not at all, are willing to show up to see the sport’s best horses and drivers in action. With summery weather, a fast-racing surface and local celebrity Beau Jangles in the mix, there was a good chance that handle would also reflect the strong attendance.
After Neighver Punt and Dexter Dunn won the first Grand Circuit event of the card, the race 3 Goodtimes final (Grade 2), in 1:52 for trainer Marcus Melander, the atmosphere heightened trackside. Two track security guards keeping watch over the winner’s circle area answered questions about how the evening compared with previous editions.
“You know, we have some fairly big ones coming up after this one, but this one here is still the king of kings,” said one security guard, an employee of 17 years. He said it was “a bit too early” to judge whether Cup Night 2026 would surpass previous editions.
The audience was “half and half,” according to the guard: half old-timers and regulars, half younger people and newcomers to Mohawk.
“It always brings out a lot of people,” he said. “We noticed that a lot of the younger kids are coming out. You know: People in their 20s and teens are coming out here looking for something different. On top of that, we have the regulars who live nearby, the devoted horse racing fans, whether they’re a racer, owner, trainer or just spectators that just love to come here. On a night like this, it just brings everybody out… I heard that they were expecting 8,000 [spectators]…It’s kind of hard to keep track, but I know that for the fireworks night in May we had like 5,500 or 6,000.”
A man sporting a Legends Day shirt from Clinton Raceway stood near the rail, wearing a North America Cup 2026 ball cap autographed by the drivers.
“I like them all,” said Rodney Caswell. “I come to the North America Cup every year and then the Breeders Crown in the fall, when it’s here. I’ve been betting horses 40 years. Mom and dad never gambled, but I got the bug, I guess. We had a farm and I had a pony, and then when I was 19 I got into the racing.”
Like many in the audience, Caswell was previously involved in the industry.
“I mostly raced at Kawartha,” he said. “My brother [Philip Caswell] had one trotter that we raced here a few times, Complete Hand [4, 1:59.2f; $36,462].”
The Newcastle, ON resident had come to Mohawk with “a couple of people from Bowmanville” for North America Cup night.
Caswell said that there was “a very good crowd” in his estimation as a fan who had attended many past editions.
“I think they’re doing a good job [with promotion],” he told HRU. “I’ve been out [as an owner] I’m going to say eight years, but it just gets in your blood and you appreciate it.”
A teller said that there were “more Americans than normal” at the windows, some because “they are here with their horses.” She mentioned that swag and souvenir giveaways might be part of the attraction for some fans, but that many had a good collection already, making this less of a factor in the night’s strong attendance.
The record handle for the Pepsi North America Cup card was set in 2022 at Mohawk, with $6,317,624.47 wagered that evening.
Garnet Barnsdale is the handicapper who writes Mohawk’s Horseplayer’s Journal. He said he was “going to the [North America Cup] race back when it was still the Queen City Pace at Greenwood” and has attended most editions.
Barnsdale observed that attendance and wagering seemed strong this year.
“I think handle is always pretty good on these nights, and I think it was very good tonight,” he said. “I think the $5 All-Stakes Pick-3 was a good idea, a good wager, and I think they should try to do more of it on the big nights. The crowd was great. The good thing about nights like this is you get all kinds. You get die-hards; you get newbies; you get tag-alongs, people that family members bring.”
Barnsdale said that improved attendance was likely to lead to improved handle, despite the sizable percentage of non-wagering children and others in the crowd.
“It would help,” he said. “I would be almost sure that the on-track handle would be better with good attendance, helped by good weather.”
Did Barnsdale think that harness racing might be reaching a new audience because of popular events like the Pepsi North America Cup drawing on-track fans again?
“I don’t know for sure, but I very much hope so,” he said.
From the perspective of the public-facing racetrack workers and fans, there have been many changes since 1984, the year that the first North America Cup debuted at Greenwood Raceway.
“I guess we have to be more concerned about the safety of the horses,” a security guard noted of what changed about his job on the big night. “Today is an exception: It’s a lot more busy than usual because you’ve got the biggest race of the year. As I see it, summer is over once the NA Cup is over!”
The 2026 North America Cup, won by Odds On Mr Mamba and driver James MacDonald for trainer Melanie Wrenn, attracted a record $687,448.89 in handle, with a total handle of $5,610,228 for the overall 13-race card. The grand total of on-track wagering for the card was $227,428. The previous highest single-race handle for a North America Cup was $681,000 in 2018.
