purses

Betting on U.S. Thoroughbred races was up again year over year in November 2021, while the industry saw a major spike in purses for the month, according to figures released by Equibase Monday. The numbers continue the positive economic trends the sport has seen this year as it slowly emerges from the toll taken by the pandemic. A total of $961,813,331 was wagered on U.S. races in November, up 7.4% from the November 2020 figure of $895,546,532. The November 2021 number is more flat when compared with November 2019, when...

Equibase has released the economic indicators for the month of October and year-to-date, as well as the same statistics for October of 2020 and January through October of 2020 for comparison. THOROUGHBRED RACING ECONOMIC INDICATORS FOR OCTOBER 2021 Indicator                           Oct. 2021            Oct. 2020            % Change Wagering/U.S. Races             $950,624,087     $929,063,211           +2.32% U.S. Purses                       $107,844,038      $90,904,717            +18.63% U.S. Race Days                328                        340                           -3.53% U.S. Races                        2,748                    2,852                        -3.65% U.S. Starts                         20,750                  22,410                       -7.41% Avg. Field Size                 7.55                       7.86                           -3.90% Avg. Wagering/Day       $2,898,244          $2,732,539               +6.06% Avg. Purses/Day            $328,793              $267,367                  +22.97%   YTD 2021...

Turfway Park executives are projecting purses for maiden special weight (MSW) races to nearly double to about $60,000 for the upcoming dual meets that will be run December through March. Last season, Turfway paid out just $32,000 for MSW races while conducting meets heavily compromised by both the COVID-19 pandemic and a massive grandstand rebuild that kept the northern Kentucky oval closed to on-track spectators. Turfway's 2021-22 MSW purse projection was disclosed Tuesday during a Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory board meeting by Tyler Picklesimer, the track's director of...

According to figures released Tuesday by Equibase, through the first three-quarters of 2021 wagering on U.S. horse racing is up 13.8% over 2020 totals. At the end of September, $9,498,141,414 had been wagered on the sport, a sizeable increase over the comparable figure of 2020 when $8,346,543,422 had been bet. With a strong final quarter, the amount bet on U.S. racing for the year could top $12 billion. That would be the most bet during a year since $11.4 billion was wagered in 2010. The record for most wagered in...

With three weeks remaining in the 2021 horse racing season at Arapahoe Park, racetrack management increased all overnight purses by 2,000. In addition, the purse for the Gold Rush Futurity will see its purse increased from $35,000 to $100,000. The Butch Gleason Classic for older horses will now be a $50,000 race, up from $20,000.

Wagering essentially stayed the same in July compared to the same month from 2020 while still showing marked improvement over corresponding 2019 numbers, according to the latest economic indicators released by Equibase. Purses continued to rise over last year's pandemic-affected levels and eclipsed 2019 numbers for July. Overall, $1,101,617,446 was wagered on U.S. races in July 2021, compared to $1,098,021,143 in 2020, a slight uptick of 0.33%. In July of 2019, $942,243,633 was wagered, making last month's numbers a 16.91% increase over that figure. With the number of race days...

The upcoming 48-day spring/summer meeting at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, will offer the richest overnight purse structure in the history of the New York Racing Association, the organization said Thursday. Open-company maiden allowance races will feature purse money of $90,000, while first-, second- and third-level allowance races will be worth $92,000, $94,000 and $96,000, respectively. New York maiden special weight races will carry prize money of $75,000, while horses bred in the Empire State will benefit from an $85,000 purse for non-winners of two/ $45,000 claiming and an...

All races in France since May 11, 2020 which carried a reduced purse due to the COVID-19 pandemic will receive part of their original prizemoney back in the second half of January, France Galop announced on Monday. At the end of 2020, France Galop's funding budget was €185 million instead of €248 million, a 25% decrease due to the two-month period racing ceased in France during the first French lockdown. In August, the France Galop Board of Directors determined that a positive funding result-if there was one--at the end of...

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...

At the six-month mark of the shutdown of live racing in Arizona that is the result of both the pandemic and a prolonged fight over off-track betting (OTB) privileges, the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) has reportedly secured some of the disputed money from the horsemen's account that had been controlled by Turf Paradise and placed it into a trust to pay purses if and when racing resumes elsewhere. This news was shared in the form of a widely circulated email that made the rounds on social media...

Editor's Note: 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. * Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races. August 2020 vs. August 2019 Indicator                                              August 2020 ...

Total prize money for the 10th QIPCO British Champions Day on Oct. 17 was cut to £2.5 million, QIPCO announced on Thursday. The purse reduction is a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but the raceday remains the richest in Great Britain. The G1 QIPCO Champion S. will be run for £750,000, while the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. sponsored by QIPCO will be £650,000. Both the G1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares and the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint S. will be conducted at £350,000 and the G2 QIPCO...