handle

Tampa Bay Downs horsemen and horsewomen will benefit from another increase in purse money beginning Wednesday. The approximate 10% boost will provide a $1,000 increase for all maiden special weight, allowance, claiming and starter races. Peter Berube, the track's Vice President-General Manager, said a double-digit gain in simulcast wagering has more than offset a decline in on-track wagering, making the second increase of the 2020-2021 meeting possible. The track had raised purses by approximately 10% Dec. 16. Tampa Bay Downs is averaging $4.1-million in daily handle on its product, a...

For the second time in the young 2020-21 meet, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has announced a 10% purse increase across the board. Much like the first, the boost was inspired by strong simulcast handle during the first seven weeks of the 149th racing season, which includes solid bettor response to the newly implemented traditional early and late Pick 5 wagers. "Despite losing multiple days of turf racing, handle has remained quite strong," Fair Grounds' racing secretary Scott Jones said. "Condition book four will be released the beginning of...

There are few positions more prominent or scrutinized in racing than president of The Jockey Club, and that goes double for years as tumultuous for the sport as 2019 and 2020 were. With a plethora of game-changing topics to discuss, The Jockey Club's president and chief operating officer Jim Gagliano joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday in the show's first episode of 2021. Appearing as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Gagliano discussed how the industry can potentially pay for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act,...

Despite a racing calendar ravaged by the coronavirus, all-sources handle on U.S. racing in 2020 declined by just .98%. According to Equibase, total handle on the year was $10,925,226,444 or $108,597,919 less than what it was in 2019. Had the Triple Crown races not been rescheduled, it's possible that handle might have risen on the year. The total handle for the three race days combined dropped by $208 million, or more than what handle was off for the entire year. "The horse racing community is extremely resilient as borne out...

by Thoroughbred Idea Foundation The creation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is the most significant development in American racing at the federal level since the passage of the Interstate Horseracing Act in 1978. Questions now being rightly considered include how much HISA will cost and where will its funding originate from. Below, we offer some perspective on the costs. But as the greater industry determines where the funding will come from over time, racing should proactively adopt policies which seek to grow the wagering business. The industry...

It's time to turn the page from what was a horrendous year. Thank goodness. The year 2021 is upon us and, for horse racing, it figures to be an important and eventful 12 months. These are the stories we will be talking about and writing about in 2021: Will Handle Be On The Rise? Perhaps the most positive story to come out of 2020 has been the handle figures. With the pandemic causing a sizeable reduction when it comes to the amount of races that were run, betting figured to...

It's been an eventful year to say the least, and Wednesday morning, the crew of the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland wrapped up the biggest stories of 2020 and looked forward to the promise of a new year with an assist from trainer Brendan Walsh. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week for the second time, Walsh talked about the highly-anticipated return of barn star Maxfield (Street Sense), what his hopes are for the implementation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and trainees...

All-sources handle on the Breeders' Cup card on Friday at Keeneland was $50,285,986, a decrease of 11% compared to 2019 at Santa Anita ($56,517,228). In 2015, the last time the Breeders' Cup World Championships were at Keeneland, the all-sources handle was $44,949,165 before a crowd of 44,497. The Future Stars Friday card took place without the general public in attendance due to COVID-19 safety measures established by the Breeders' Cup and Keeneland. On-track handle for Friday was $1,123,620 with only participants and essential personnel present. On-track handle from Santa Anita's...

As a service to the industry and in consideration of the economic changes due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Equibase is currently providing monthly reporting of its Economic Indicators Advisories. The Advisory is typically disseminated on a quarterly basis to provide key metrics used to measure racing's performance throughout the year. October 2020 vs. October 2019 Indicator October 2020 October 2019 % Change Wagering on U.S. Races* $929,063,211 $776,071,164 +19.71% U.S. Purses $90,845,317 $91,981,753 -1.24% U.S. Race Days 340 334 +1.80% U.S. Races 2,852 2,754 +3.56% U.S. Starts 22,410 22,176 +1.06%...

The Belmont Park fall meet generated $9,923,813 in average daily handle from all sources, a 33.6% increase over the 2019 fall meet, the New York Racing Association announced. Despite running 10 fewer days than in 2019, all-sources handle of $267,942,961 was down just 2.5% compared with 2019. The Belmont Park fall meet has traditionally opened on the Friday following Labor Day. Due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, NYRA adjusted the fall schedule by adding a one-week break following the conclusion of the summer meet at Saratoga Race...

Monmouth Park showed increases in both the daily transmission of its signal and in total average handle compared to 2019 during the combined 44-day meet that concluded Saturday. Monmouth Park's average daily simulcast handle increased 27.09% to $3,604,413 daily compared to $2,836,148 last year. The overall average handle was up 20.81% to $3,807,082 daily compared to $3,151,201 last year. "We are so grateful to everyone for supporting this extraordinary meet and, more specifically, the Governor's Office and the New Jersey Racing Commission for allowing us the ability not only to...

According to Equibase figures, total wagering on U.S. races in September was $1,039,737,336, a 29.64% increase over 2019 numbers. The handle for the GI Kentucky Derby day card at Churchill Downs fell dramatically this year. A total of $128.3 million was bet on the 14 races. In 2019, $250.9 million was wagered on the card. Nonetheless, the $128.3 million was the most bet on any racing program this year and was a major factor in the overall increase for September. With the increase in numbers during September, total handle for...