Despite the rise in the COVID-19 infection rate in many states around the country, wagering on U.S. races managed to remain relatively stable, with only a slight dip from 2019 figures. A total of $895,325,220 was wagered last month, down 6.33% from November of 2019. Year-to-date figures decreased only 1.48% from $10,326,096,182 bet in 2019. Both figures include worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races. In November, average wagering per race day jumped by 35.49% up to $3,996,998, while the year-to-date figure showed a similar pattern, rising by 33.78% to $3,310,512.
On the other hand, purses dropped precipitously last month when compared to the same period in 2019: a drop of 20.47% to $92,058,080 in 2020. From the start of the year through November, purses fell 26.28% to $812,146,506. Average purses per race day showed a slight increase to $264,285 (YTD), while rising by 15.03% to $410,974 for the month.
While U.S. race days fell from 324 to 224 last month, average field size showed a slight gain of 4.35% to 8.35.
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