Wagering on U.S. races, plus available and paid purses, all saw increases to varying degrees when compared to a year ago in August, while the number of race days and races themselves saw a slight uptick during the month, according to information released by Equibase on Thursday.
Total wagering of over $1.1 billion on races during the month represented a 5.53% increase over the same period from 2023, while available purses of over $142.7 million were up by 7.38%. The figure of over $136.6 million for paid purses in August was up 8.37%. As for the total number of race days, they went from 409 to 416 (+1.71%) and the number of U.S. races was up slightly from 3,204 in August 2023 to last month's tally of 3,232 (+0.87%).
Average field size in August was also up from over a year ago when it was 7.16, and checked in at an average of 7.21 runners, an increase of 0.72%. Average daily wagering increased by 3.75% to $2,807,622 and the average available purse number per race day was up 11.29% to $343,109 from the figure of $308,293 in 2023.
When it comes to the year-to-date figures, through August of 2023 wagering on U.S. races came in at $8.249 billion, while this year the amount is 8.081 billion (-2.03%). Those numbers include worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.
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