Economic Indicators

Wagering on U.S. races, available and paid purses and the average field size, all saw increases to varying degrees, while the number of races declined during the month of March, according to information released by Equibase on Friday. Total wagering of over $972 million on races during the month represented a 0.99% increase over the same period from 2022, while available purses of $102.8 million were up by 8.41%. The figure of over $98 million for paid purses in March was up 7.55%. However, the total number of race days...

Wagering on U.S. races dipped 2.85% in February, with 11 fewer racing dates, in year-to-year comparisons released Tuesday by Equibase, while through two months of 2024, wagering is down 6.83% with 59 fewer race days than the same period in 2023. Wagering in February totaled $838,195,585, compared to $862,782,585 in February, 2023. Through two months, a total of $1,618,055,698 was wagered in U.S. races. That figure was $1,736,625,054 after two months of 2023. While available purse money increased 6.44% to $86,413,218 in February, that figure year-to-date is down 4.03% to...

According to data released Friday by Equibase, handle in 2023 fell by $447,759,362 for a decline of 3.7 percent. Had handle not rebounded in December, which saw a 6.62% increase, the figures would have looked much worse. Outside of the COVID year of 2020, this was the steepest decline based on percentage of handle since 2011. A total of $11,658,624,859 was wagered in 2023. "I think we got quite a blip coming out of the pandemic when we were the only game in town," said Marshall Gramm, an economics professor,...

Wagering on U.S. races, available and paid purses, as well as the total number of racing days, all saw declines to varying degrees during the month of October, according to information released by Equibase on Monday. Total wagering of $818.9 million on races during the month represented a 9.34% decrease over the same period from 2022, while available purses of $108.5 million were down by 10.43%. The figure of $104.2 million for paid purses in October was down 10.81%, while the total number of race days dropped from 332 to...

Worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races fell year-to-date in 2023 by 2.81% from $5,288,282,017 last year to $5,139,620,402 this year when compared to corresponding figures in 2022. Paid-out purses rose by 2.85% as the number of race days fell by 1.87% and the number of races fell slightly from 12,515 in 2022 to 12,353 in 2023. The average available purses per race day experienced the most significant increase, a bump of almost 9% to $331,188 from 2022's $303,894. Average field size also rose from 7.33 starters in 2022 to 7.47...

Purses for U.S. races continued their positive trend in November, while wagering handle ticked down to essentially put the year's betting numbers on par with 2021's figures heading into 2022's final month, according to economic indicator figures released by Equibase Monday. A total of $918,196,787 was bet on U.S. races in November, a 4.47% decrease from the $961,166,113 wagered in November 2021. For the year, $11,360,902,118 has been bet, just a .4% drop from the $11,406,643,956 wagered through 11 months in 2021. This year's total still represents an 11.7% increase...

Purses rose significantly in September this year compared to September 21 while wagering on U.S. races saw a slight uptick, with a similar split showing for the third quarter of 2022 vs. 2021, according to the economic indicator statistics released by Equibase Wednesday. Wagering totaled $936,206,774 in September, a 2.68% increase from the total of $911,734,704 in September 2021. This year's number, however, was a 9.98% drop-off from the $1,040,000,472 wagered in September 2020. Wagering per race day was $2,317,344, a 7% increase from last September, but an 18.67% drop...

Another record was set Saturday at Kentucky Downs when $21,065,982 was wagered on the 12-race card. Perhaps even more impressively, Kentucky Downs out-handled Del Mar, where $19,423,928 was bet. Del Mar ran 11 races on Saturday. That a wagering record was set was hardly a surprise considering that the card at Kentucky Downs was also the best ever offered at the sport's most unique racetrack. There were six graded stakes on the card and five of them were worth $1 million. The average field size was 11, the type of...

Purses are up 15.17% for April 2022 at $103,144,902 compared to $89,560,470 in April 2021. Race days, races and starts have also increased with 14 more race days this April than last year at this time. Meanwhile, wagering is down 2.06% from in April 2021 $1,102,169,529 to $1,079,452,871 in April 2022. Average wagering per race day has also decreased 6.74% from $3,950,428 to $3,684,139. However, wagering is up .19% for the year.

Betting on U.S. Thoroughbred races dropped slightly in March compared to the month's total in 2021, while remaining narrowly ahead through 2022's first three months compared to its pace from the first quarter of 2021, according to Equibase's report of economic indicators released Tuesday. Overall, $942,589,741 was wagered in March, a 2.37% decline from $965,453,678 in March of 2021. The number of race days conducted was nearly identical, with 291 being run this March compared to 292 last year, making the average wagering per race day $3,239,140, down 2.03% from...

Total wagering on U.S. races topped $911 million and purse money exceeded $75 million in the month of February, according to statistics released Friday by Equibase. Compared to the $840.5 million wagered on U.S. races in 2021, the current figure represented a healthy gain of 8.39% while purse money rose by a whopping 22.09%. The number of U.S. race days and number of races run each increased by double digits, though average field size and the average wagering per race day declined modestly. Average purses per race day were $295,009,...

According to statistics released Feb. 4 by Equibase, wagering on North American racing during the first month of the new year totaled $942.6 million, a decrease of 1.82% from the corresponding figure from 2021, while owners raced for purse money of better than $82 million combined, a whopping 15.48% more than the $71.1 million from 12 months ago. Despite the wintry weather that annually claims its fair share of programs and a pause in racing in Maryland owing to track maintenance, the number of race days increased fractionally last month...