FORT ERIE, Ont. -- If you were one of the 8,000 or people at the Fort Erie Race Track last Sunday, you probably saw Rick Cowan, the new chief operating officer, hard at work. Even if he looked like he was hardly working.

During the sultry Prince of Wales Stakes afternoon, the Happy Handicapper noticed Cowan, dressed in a sharp blue suit, chatting with security officers by the horse path, schmoozing with customers in the dining room, joking with jockeys on their patio, chatting with horse owners and trainers in the walking room and -- at the end of the day -- handing the H.H. a cold brew during the postrace reception in the clubhouse.

"I definitely like to walk around the track," said Cowan, the point man for the new not-for-profit group that took over management of the 113-year-old track July 1. "I like talking to people and getting feedback."

Cowan, 63, may be new in this job, but he certainly is no stranger to the colorful border oval. From 1976 to 1994, he worked in executive posts at the Ontario Jockey Club, which owned Fort Erie. He even recalls driving the trams on the Sunday morning backstretch tours.

Semi-retired in Florida at the beginning of this year, Cowan -- who owns a race track consulting company -- said he applied for the Fort Erie job because he was "looking for an opportunity to turn a business around."

Cowan says his primary focus is on boosting on-track attendance and betting handle.

"I want to focus on the racing aspect and capitalize on the people at the race track and get more attention devoted towards on-track betting," Cowan said. "On-track betting is most important."

After drawing larger than usual crowds on Sundays for Father's Day, Ladies' Day and Prince of Wales Day, Cowan's next goal is to boost attendance on Tuesdays.

Starting this week, first-race post time will shift from 1:30 to 4 p.m. for the five Tuesdays in August. Billed as "Twilight Toonie Tuesdays," the track will charge just $2 for hot dogs, hamburgers, beer and other refreshments and also offer an $11.95 "Italian Buffet" in the restaurant on the fourth floor of the clubhouse.

"We experimented with a 4 p.m. post at Woodbine and we found it to be extremely successful. It increased food and beverage sales and people used it as an opportunity for an early dinner. I'm hoping it will be received the same way here. ... 4 p.m. in August is a neat time. ... Summer is winding down and there is plenty of daylight."

Cowan said, "I'm really optimistic we can do some good things," but admits it will take a lot more to put fannies in the seats and dollars in the mutuel machines.

Here are some of his plans:

* Saturday racing: Although the track is committed to a Sunday through Tuesday schedule for the rest of this year, Cowan said, "If I'm going to grow on-track handle, Saturday makes more sense."

He said he is "going to look at" adding Saturdays next year and said that in October there will be three Saturday cards of quarter horse races plus a Saturday card of both thoroughbred and quarter horse events.

* Handicapping contests: "In September and October we will have a handicapping contest every Sunday. We will have the seven winners come back and pit them versus media representatives and the winners will go to Las Vegas," Cowan said.

* Player rewards: While Players Club members earn rebates for their slot machine play, the Ontario Lottery won't allow them to use cards to get rebates on horse bets. However, Cowan said, "We are looking at a rewards system" for horse bettors.

* Stakes spotlight: Sandwiching a pair of $50,000 stakes sprints around the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes may be history.

"We expect to come up with a more creative and balanced stakes schedule covering more weeks," Cowan said. "I'd like to see things spread out so that every three weeks we can have a race we can talk about."

* Back to the future: While Sunday morning breakfasts and tram tours may be things of the past, they may be revived once or twice at least. Such things are being considered for a "Legends Day" on Labor Day weekend, when trainers, jockeys and horsemen from the glory days will be invited.

* Attracting Americans: While the track has reopened betting windows for U.S. currency, the inconveniences of border crossing and competition from nearby casinos has been costly. "The betting handle used to be 80 percent U.S. and 20 percent Canadian. Now it's the other way around," Cowan said.

"I realize it's related to the Peace Bridge and passports and competition. We've hired [a U.S. advertising agency headed by David Kostrzewski]. ... If he's got any ideas, I'm more than willing to support them."

* Customer feedback: "I walk around the track. The customers aren't shy in terms of putting their two cents in. I will definitely answer every e-mail [rcowan@forterieracetrack.com]," Cowan said.

* Outlook: "I'm not the rainmaker in terms of horse racing. ... I've had my failures," Cowan said. "But I think this is going to work. ... I'm aware of the fact you can stub your toe. But I'm not going to stub my toe here."

rsummers@buffnews.comnull