Wagering on U.S. races during the month of November experienced nearly an eight percent decrease and purses also saw a similar decline compared to a year ago, according to information released by Equibase on Friday.
Total wagering of $848,116,672 on races during the month represented a 7.93% decrease over the same period from 2024, while available purses of over $118 million were lower by 7.76%. The figure of over $111 million for paid purses in November was also down by 7.49%. As for the total number of race days, they also decreased from 275 to 248 (-9.82%) and the number of U.S. races was lower from 2,316 in November 2024 to last month's tally of 2,123 (-8.33%).
Average field size in November was up a tick from over a year ago when it was 7.77, and checked in at an average of 7.81 runners–an increase of 0.49%. As for average daily wagering, it increased by 2.10% to $3,419,825, and the average available purse number per race day was up 2.28% to $476,030 from the figure of $465,423 in 2024.
When it comes to the year-to-date figures, through November of 2024 wagering on U.S. races came in at $10.583-billion, while this year the amount is $10.395-billion (-1.78%). Those numbers include worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.
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