Equibase, North American racing's official database, has released its October statistics for the industry's economic indicators, including field size, wagering, and other data, along with 2019 and 2020 comparables. The 2019 data is included as a pre-COVID-19 comparison.
Equibase is continuing to provide monthly reporting of its Economic Indicators Advisories as a service to the industry and in consideration of the economic changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Advisory is typically disseminated on a quarterly basis to provide key metrics used to measure racing's performance throughout the year.
Both total wagering and average wagering per race day trended down from October of 2021 to October of 2022, the former by about five percent, and the latter by nearly six. However, year-to-date figures for the first 10 months of the year show 2022 to be nearly on par with 2021, with just a 0.02 percent drop in total wagering and 0.72 percent decline in average wagering per race day.
Looking at numbers from 2020, wagering is up 12.59 percent through the first 10 months of the year in 2022, but average daily wagering is down 9.77 percent. Those figures are compatible with the 24.78 percent increase in race days and 8.16 percent drop in field size.
Compared to 2019, prior to the pandemic, wagering through the first 10 months of the year is up 11.46 percent, with average wagering per race day showing an increase of 20.67 percent.
The strongest category remains purses, which were up 12.42 percent in October of 2022, and up 11.62 percent through the first 10 months of 2022. Compared to 2020, purses through the first 10 months of the year are up over 50 percent; average purses per race day are up 22.77 percent.
| October 2022 vs. October 2021 | |||
| Indicator | October 2022 | October 2021 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $903,455,809 | $950,283,112 | -4.93% |
| U.S. Purses | $121,208,687 | $107,820,743 | +12.42% |
| U.S. Race Days | 332 | 328 | +1.22% |
| U.S. Races | 2,782 | 2,748 | +1.24% |
| U.S. Starts | 21,152 | 20,750 | +1.94% |
| Average Field Size | 7.60 | 7.55 | +0.69% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,721,252 | $2,897,205 | -6.07% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $365,086 | $328,722 | +11.06% |
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2021 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2021 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $10,443,740,372 | $10,445,477,843 | -0.02% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,103,214,337 | $988,374,722 | +11.62% |
| U.S. Race Days | 3,555 | 3,530 | +0.71% |
| U.S. Races | 28,792 | 28,974 | -0.63% |
| U.S. Starts | 208,102 | 211,366 | -1.54% |
| Average Field Size | 7.23 | 7.30 | -0.92% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,937,761 | $2,959,059 | -0.72% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $310,328 | $279,993 | +10.83% |
2020 Comparisons:
| October 2022 vs. October 2020 | |||
| Indicator | October 2022 | October 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $903,455,809 | $929,063,211 | -2.76% |
| U.S. Purses | $121,208,687 | $90,904,717 | +33.34% |
| U.S. Race Days | 332 | 340 | -2.35% |
| U.S. Races | 2,782 | 2,852 | -2.45% |
| U.S. Starts | 21,152 | 22,410 | -5.61% |
| Average Field Size | 7.60 | 7.86 | -3.24% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,721,252 | $2,732,539 | -0.41% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $365,086 | $267,367 | +36.55% |
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2020 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $10,443,740,372 | $9,275,606,633 | +12.59% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,103,214,337 | $720,140,966 | +53.19% |
| U.S. Race Days | 3,555 | 2,849 | +24.78% |
| U.S. Races | 28,792 | 23,747 | +21.24% |
| U.S. Starts | 208,102 | 186,886 | +11.35% |
| Average Field Size | 7.23 | 7.87 | -8.16% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,937,761 | $3,255,741 | -9.77% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $310,328 | $252,770 | +22.77% |
2019 Comparisons:
| October 2022 vs. October 2019 | |||
| Indicator | October 2022 | October 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $903,455,809 | $776,071,164 | +16.41% |
| U.S. Purses | $121,208,687 | $91,981,753 | +31.77% |
| U.S. Race Days | 332 | 334 | -0.60% |
| U.S. Races | 2,782 | 2,754 | +1.02% |
| U.S. Starts | 21,152 | 22,176 | -4.62% |
| Average Field Size | 7.60 | 8.05 | -5.58% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,721,252 | $2,323,566 | +17.12% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $365,086 | $275,394 | +32.57% |
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2019 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $10,443,740,372 | $9,370,253,183 | +11.46% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,103,214,337 | $985,848,771 | +11.91% |
| U.S. Race Days | 3,555 | 3,849 | -7.64% |
| U.S. Races | 28,792 | 31,308 | -8.04% |
| U.S. Starts | 208,102 | 233,153 | -10.74% |
| Average Field Size | 7.23 | 7.45 | -2.94% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,937,761 | $2,434,464 | +20.67% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $310,328 | $256,131 | +21.16% |
* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.
The post Economic Indicators: Wagering Trends Down In October, But Year-To-Date Figures Nearly On Par appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
