handle

Total all-sources handle for the 2022 Thoroughbred meet at Woodbine was $621,782,346, by a wide margin the largest single-season total in the history of the track. The previous record was $533 million set in 2018. For the first time since 2019, Woodbine was able to hold a full season of racing. Over the course of 132 live dates, a total of 1,198 races were staged. The 2020 and 2021 seasons were delayed and interrupted to varying degrees by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We're very happy with the results of our 2022...

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...

While waiting on final information from some non-commingled locations, Horseshoe Indianapolis estimated that its total all-sources handle for the track's 2022 combined Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse meet will be nearly $235 million, showing an increase of 5.2% over figures in 2021. The increase is despite running 27 fewer races than in 2021, which resulted in a per race increase of over 9%. "Despite difficult weather conditions with rain in most of May and a string of 100-plus heat index days that forced us to either cancel or move post times...

Total all-sources global common-pool handle for the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland was $189,060,373, establishing a new record. That represents a 3.4% increase over the previous mark of $182,908,409 set last year at Del Mar and an 18% increase from the $160,472,893 at Keeneland during the COVID-impacted 2020 championships. The total common-pool handle on Saturday's live 12-race program was a record $122,918,607, while the corresponding figure from Friday's 12-race card was $66,141,766, also a record for a Breeders' Cup Friday. For the fifth consecutive year, Breeders' Cup staged...

A crowd of 147,294 witnessed Rich Strike's (Keen Ice) 80-1 upset in the 148th running of the GI Kentucky Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs. Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby Day program totaled $273.8 million, a 17% increase over 2021 and up 9% from the previous record in 2019 of $250.9 million. Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby race totaled $179.0 million, up 15% over 2021 and up 8% from the previous record of $166.5 million set in 2019. This year's wagering record includes $8.3 million of handle...

Keeneland closed its 2022 Spring Meet Friday with all-sources handle in excess of $219 million to establish an all-time meet wagering record for the track, and a third consecutive season of record handle. The Lexington oval offered record average daily purses of $1.147 million, attracting an average of 9.1 starters per race. "This Spring Meet was unmatched in many measures, most of all the fact that everyone seemed to revel in the energy of having fans back in full force on race days," said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin....

Monmouth Park jockeys will once again be allowed to use their whips to encourage their mounts when the meet kicks off May 7. The change was made during a special hearing held Friday by the New Jersey Racing Commission, which voted to rescind rules that were put in place prior to the 2021 Monmouth meeting that allowed whipping only in cases where it was needed for safety reasons. New Jersey was the only state in the country where whipping was banned. Monmouth's whipping rules were set to change July 1,...

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...

The 2021-22 Aqueduct winter meet, which ran from Dec. 9, 2021 through Mar. 27, 2022, generated all-sources handle of $358,836,940, a 2.5% increase over the 2020-21 winter meet, NYRA announced Thursday. That figure was achieved despite running four fewer race days than 2020-21. Originally scheduled to be held over 56 days, NYRA was forced to cancel six race days during the 2021-22 winter meet due to adverse weather conditions. As a result, the winter meet was contested over 50 live race days. Average daily handle for the 2021-22 winter meet...

Jason Boulet, the Fair Grounds director of racing, was repeatedly pressed by Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) member Tom Calvert Tuesday about whether or not his track would once again seek a statutory change to reduce its required number of race dates from 80 to 75 when the state legislature convenes its 2022 session Mar. 14. The exchange did not yield a definitive answer beyond Boulet's disclosure that the Fair Grounds and its corporate parent, the gaming firm Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), would be in favor of participating in discussions...

The New York Racing Association's 2021 race meets conducted at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course generated all-sources handle of $2,373,772,916 and average daily handle of $11,809,816 over 201 race days, NYRA announced Thursday. Average daily handle on the NYRA circuit has increased 21.6% since 2019, when average daily handle over 217 race days was $9,714,868. Average daily handle in 2020, which featured 157 race days, was $11,553,727. All sources handle for 2021 was $265,646,547 higher than 2019, an increase of 12.6%; and $559,837,825 higher than 2020, a...

In spite of six races moved from the turf to the dirt, resulting in 10 program scratches, a total of $2.3 million was wagered on track and total pari-mutuel handle was $19.4 million, making it the third-best opening day figures ever. "We really want to thank the fans for supporting us and the horsemen for going with the changes and participating," said Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager, Nate Newby. "Although it didn't rain yesterday, we had over 4 1/2 inches of rain in the five days leading...