Equibase

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...

Several days of cancelled races due to weather, especially along the East Coast, led to over a 10% dip in wagering from January compared to the same time last year according to statistics released by Equibase. Last month saw 217 race days with a total of 1,853 carded races and $779,860,113 wagered (-10.76%), down from 265 days, 2,280 races and $873,842,469 wagered in Jan. '23, leading to drops in purses paid (-14.94%) and totals starts (-17.36%). On the positive side, despite those cancellations, average wagering was up (+8.99%) as was...

Scott Little has been appointed vice president of racing services at Equibase. Little, who has served as the company's director of track services since 2021, will directly oversee setup, operation, and maintenance of the E-GPS technology systems being utilized at 28 racetracks and coordinate chart-calling staff at more than 125 tracks across the country. A graduate of the Racetrack Industry Program at the University of Arizona, Little served as a product manager for AmTote prior to joining Equibase. Before transitioning to horse racing, Little spent his career in the hospitality...

Effective Jan. 1, 2025, the North American International Cataloguing Standards Committee (NAICSC) will increase the minimum Race Quality Scores (RQS) for non-Listed black-type races in SITA catalogues due to the gradual growth in the ratio of those races to the total number of races run, the organization said via a release by The Jockey Club News Service. The RQS is a composite number compiled by using speed figures for the first four finishers in each race over three years. Four speed figures are used to compile the RQS and are...

Roberts Communications Network, LLC (RCN) has acquired OGN Racing, LLC, and OGN Racing--Canada ULC, which will greatly expand the network's racing information kiosk business and bring innovation to the industry, the distributor said in a Wednesday release. OGN Racing has more than 100 program printing kiosks deployed across the United States and Canada, which RCN intends to replace with its state-of-the-art newly designed kiosk featuring added functionality and enhancements. "We see a great opportunity to significantly improve this aspect of the racing industry," said RCN President & CEO Todd Roberts....

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...

Keeneland has cataloged 277 horses to the November Horses of Racing Age Sale, set to be held on Nov. 17, the day after the conclusion of the November Breeding Stock Sale, the auction company announced on Tuesday. The catalog features Daily Racing Form and Equibase past performances along with Thoro-graph and Ragozin sheets, race replays and more. The single-session sale consists of 66 2-year-olds, 126 3-year-olds and 85 older horses by top stallions such as Arrogate, Candy Ride (ARG), Constitution, Curlin, Good Magic, Gun Runner, Into Mischief, Justify, Munnings, Not...

Equibase has added entries from France to the list of countries available within the international section of their website, the organization said in a release Wednesday. All international entry information, including the newly added French entries at Equibase.com are also available on their app. Final entries from France will include data from all of the country's major race courses, including ParisLongchamp's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday, Oct. 1. "Horse racing is a global sport and we are excited to be able to make French entries available to...

Betting on U.S. horse racing had its worst month so far this year in August as handle fell by $87,216,418 when compared to August 2022 figures. The decline was 7.3%, the sharpest drop in a month since December 2022. A total of $1,107,146,014 was bet on the sport during this August, while the 2022 handle figure was $1,194,362,432. In month-over-month figures, it was the sharpest drop since December when handle fell by 7.52%. While the Saratoga meet spills over in to July and September, the majority of it is run...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--On the subject of the resilience of 9-year-old Channel Maker (English Channel) approaching his sixth-consecutive start in the GI Sword Dancer S. Saturday, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott made his point in a few words. "I can't say enough," he said. Mott was smiling, but he wasn't joking. "What can you say?" Mott said. "He sort of seems like an oddity in this day and age that he's able to stay around and still be in somewhat close to top form." Channel Maker has stood the tests...