Equibase, North American racing's official database, has released its November 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.
November saw the Breeders' Cup World Championships return to Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky., resulting in a record handle of $189,060,373, a 3.4 percent increase over the prior record of $182,908,409 set when the event was held at Del Mar in 2021 and an 18 percent increase from the total handle of $160,472,893 at the 2020 event held at Keeneland.
Despite those numbers, total handle for the month of November declined 4.47 percent in 2022, as compared to the same month in 2021. Looking at November of 2019 at a pre-COVID comparison, the same month in 2022 is down 3.94 percent.
Average wagering per race day was also down approximately five percent from November 2022 to 2021, but year-to-date total wagering on U.S. racing is nearly even, at -0.40 percent.
Purses continue to show strength, up over 10 percent on the year and up 11.35 percent from the first 11 months of 2019, while average field size continues to decline, down about 1 percent on the year and 3.11 percent from the first 11 months of 2019.
| November 2022 vs. November 2021 | |||
| Indicator | November 2022 | November 2021 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $918,196,787 | $961,166,113 | -4.47% |
| U.S. Purses | $123,469,492 | $117,688,125 | +4.91% |
| U.S. Race Days | 293 | 291 | +0.69% |
| U.S. Races | 2,460 | 2,440 | +0.82% |
| U.S. Starts | 18,737 | 18,782 | -0.24% |
| Average Field Size | 7.62 | 7.70 | -1.05% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,133,777 | $3,302,976 | -5.12% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $421,398 | $404,427 | +4.20% |
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2021 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2021 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $11,360,902,118 | $11,406,643,956 | -0.40% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,226,689,699 | $1,106,062,847 | +10.91% |
| U.S. Race Days | 3,848 | 3,821 | +0.71% |
| U.S. Races | 31,253 | 31,414 | -0.51% |
| U.S. Starts | 226,848 | 230,148 | -1.43% |
| Average Field Size | 7.26 | 7.33 | -0.93% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,952,417 | $2,985,251 | -1.10% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $318,786 | $289,469 | +10.13% |
2020 Comparisons:
| November 2022 vs. November 2020 | |||
| Indicator | November 2022 | November 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $918,196,787 | $895,546,532 | +2.53% |
| U.S. Purses | $123,469,492 | $92,095,830 | +34.07% |
| U.S. Race Days | 293 | 224 | +30.80% |
| U.S. Races | 2,460 | 1,945 | +26.48% |
| U.S. Starts | 18,737 | 16,236 | +15.40% |
| Average Field Size | 7.62 | 8.35 | -8.76% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,133,777 | $3,997,976 | -21.62% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $421,398 | $411,142 | +2.49% |
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2020 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $11,360,902,118 | $10,171,153,164 | +11.70% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,226,689,699 | $812,236,796 | +51.03% |
| U.S. Race Days | 3,848 | 3,073 | +25.22% |
| U.S. Races | 31,253 | 25,692 | +21.64% |
| U.S. Starts | 226,848 | 203,122 | +11.68% |
| Average Field Size | 7.26 | 7.91 | -8.19% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,952,417 | $3,309,845 | -10.80% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $318,786 | $264,314 | +20.61% |
2019 Comparisons:
| November 2022 vs. November 2019 | |||
| Indicator | November 2022 | November 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $918,196,787 | $955,843,009 | -3.94% |
| U.S. Purses | $123,469,492 | $115,756,315 | +6.66% |
| U.S. Race Days | 293 | 324 | -9.57% |
| U.S. Races | 2,460 | 2,730 | -9.89% |
| U.S. Starts | 18,737 | 21,839 | -14.20% |
| Average Field Size | 7.62 | 8.00 | -4.79% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,133,777 | $2,950,133 | +6.22% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $421,398 | $357,273 | +17.95% |
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2019 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $11,360,902,118 | $10,326,096,192 | +10.02% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,226,689,699 | $1,101,605,086 | +11.35% |
| U.S. Race Days | 3,848 | 4,173 | -7.79% |
| U.S. Races | 31,253 | 34,038 | -8.18% |
| U.S. Starts | 226,848 | 254,992 | -11.04% |
| Average Field Size | 7.26 | 7.49 | -3.11% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,952,417 | $2,474,502 | +19.31% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $318,786 | $263,984 | +20.76% |
* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.
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