Equibase, North American racing's official database, on Wednesday released its 2021 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.
Total handle on U.S. races in 2021 topped $12 billion, reaching the highest figure since 2009. That number represents an 11.86 percent increase over wagering in 2020 ($10.9B), and an increase of 10.74 percent compared to 2019 ($11B).
By comparison, the 2009 wagering total of $12.3 billion came from a total of 49,368 races. The 2021 wagering totals were from 33,567 races, a 32 percent decline in the number of races.
Race days and starts both increased over 2020, which is expected after the pandemic shut down much of the U.S.'s live racing last year, but average field size showed a decline of 7.2 percent from 2020 to 2021. Over the same period, despite an increase of 10 percent in average purses per race day, average wagering per race day showed a 9.29 percent decline.
As compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, however, average wagering per race day showed an over 20 percent increase in 2021 as the number of race days fell by 7.98 percent. That's despite the average field size dropping from 7.53 in 2019 to 7.37 in 2021.
Total purses showed the largest percentage increase from 2020 to 2021, up 35.77 percent and 10.09 percent per race day.
Overall, the numbers suggest the horse racing industry is recovering from the pandemic, but also that it is struggling to retain field size as foal crops have declined in numbers.
| YTD 2021 vs. YTD 2020 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2021 | YTD 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $12,218,407,637 | $10,922,936,290 | +11.86% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,180,853,677 | $869,771,206 | +35.77% |
| U.S. Race Days | 4,072 | 3,302 | +23.32% |
| U.S. Races | 33,567 | 27,700 | +21.18% |
| U.S. Starts | 247,416 | 220,006 | +12.46% |
| Average Field Size | 7.37 | 7.94 | -7.20% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,000,591 | $3,307,976 | -9.29% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $289,994 | $263,407 | +10.09% |
| 1st Half 2021 vs. 1st Half 2020 | |||
| Indicator | 1st Half 2021 | 1st Half 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $6,279,039,094 | $5,054,526,907 | +24.23% |
| U.S. Purses | $515,151,692 | $324,168,648 | +58.91% |
| U.S. Race Days | 1,881 | 1,301 | +44.58% |
| U.S. Races | 15,792 | 10,906 | +44.80% |
| U.S. Starts | 117,303 | 88,074 | +33.19% |
| Average Field Size | 7.43 | 8.08 | -8.02% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,338,139 | $3,885,109 | -14.08% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $273,871 | $249,169 | +9.91% |
| 2nd Half 2021 vs. 2nd Half 2020 | |||
| Indicator | 2nd Half 2021 | 2nd Half 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $5,939,368,543 | $5,868,409,383 | +1.21% |
| U.S. Purses | $665,701,985 | $545,602,558 | +22.01% |
| U.S. Race Days | 2,191 | 2,001 | +9.50% |
| U.S. Races | 17,775 | 16,794 | +5.84% |
| U.S. Starts | 130,113 | 131,932 | -1.38% |
| Average Field Size | 7.32 | 7.86 | -6.82% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,710,803 | $2,932,738 | -7.57% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $303,835 | $272,665 | +11.43% |
| 4th QTR 2021 vs. 4th QTR 2020 | |||
| Indicator | 4th QTR 2021 | 4th QTR 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $2,720,738,901 | $2,576,392,869 | +5.60% |
| U.S. Purses | $300,299,698 | $240,534,957 | +24.85% |
| U.S. Race Days | 870 | 793 | +9.71% |
| U.S. Races | 7,339 | 6,805 | +7.85% |
| U.S. Starts | 56,789 | 55,530 | +2.27% |
| Average Field Size | 7.74 | 8.16 | -5.17% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,127,286 | $3,248,919 | -3.74% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $345,172 | $303,323 | +13.80% |
| December 2021 vs. December 2020 | |||
| Indicator | December 2021 | December 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $808,907,627 | $751,783,126 | +7.60% |
| U.S. Purses | $74,777,035 | $57,534,410 | +29.97% |
| U.S. Race Days | 251 | 229 | +9.61% |
| U.S. Races | 2,151 | 2,008 | +7.12% |
| U.S. Starts | 17,257 | 16,884 | +2.21% |
| Average Field Size | 8.02 | 8.41 | -4.59% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,222,740 | $3,282,896 | -1.83% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $297,916 | $251,242 | +18.58% |
2019 Comparisons:
| YTD 2021 vs. YTD 2019 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2021 | YTD 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $12,218,407,637 | $11,033,824,363 | +10.74% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,180,853,677 | $1,167,920,667 | +1.11% |
| U.S. Race Days | 4,072 | 4,425 | -7.98% |
| U.S. Races | 33,567 | 36,207 | -7.29% |
| U.S. Starts | 247,416 | 272,553 | -9.22% |
| Average Field Size | 7.37 | 7.53 | -2.08% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,000,591 | $2,493,520 | +20.34% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $289,994 | $263,937 | +9.87% |
| 1st Half 2021 vs. 1st Half 2019 | |||
| Indicator | 1st Half 2021 | 1st Half 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $6,279,039,094 | $5,672,774,271 | +10.69% |
| U.S. Purses | $515,151,692 | $544,002,132 | -5.30% |
| U.S. Race Days | 1,881 | 2,104 | -10.60% |
| U.S. Races | 15,792 | 17,457 | -9.54% |
| U.S. Starts | 117,303 | 130,239 | -9.93% |
| Average Field Size | 7.43 | 7.46 | -0.44% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,338,139 | $2,696,185 | +23.81% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $273,871 | $258,556 | +5.92% |
| 2nd Half 2021 vs. 2nd Half 2019 | |||
| Indicator | 2nd Half 2021 | 2nd Half 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $5,939,368,543 | $5,361,050,092 | +10.79% |
| U.S. Purses | $665,701,985 | $623,918,535 | +6.70% |
| U.S. Race Days | 2,191 | 2,321 | -5.60% |
| U.S. Races | 17,775 | 18,750 | -5.20% |
| U.S. Starts | 130,113 | 142,314 | -8.57% |
| Average Field Size | 7.32 | 7.59 | -3.56% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,710,803 | $2,309,802 | +17.36% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $303,835 | $268,815 | +13.03% |
| 4th QTR 2021 vs. 4th QTR 2019 | |||
| Indicator | 4th QTR 2021 | 4th QTR 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $2,720,738,901 | $2,439,642,344 | +11.52% |
| U.S. Purses | $300,299,698 | $274,053,649 | +9.58% |
| U.S. Race Days | 870 | 910 | -4.40% |
| U.S. Races | 7,339 | 7,653 | -4.10% |
| U.S. Starts | 56,789 | 61,576 | -7.77% |
| Average Field Size | 7.74 | 8.05 | -3.83% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,127,286 | $2,680,926 | +16.65% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $345,172 | $301,158 | +14.61% |
| December 2021 vs. December 2019 | |||
| Indicator | December 2021 | December 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $808,907,627 | $707,728,171 | +14.30% |
| U.S. Purses | $74,777,035 | $66,315,581 | +12.76% |
| U.S. Race Days | 251 | 252 | -0.40% |
| U.S. Races | 2,151 | 2,169 | -0.83% |
| U.S. Starts | 17,257 | 17,561 | -1.73% |
| Average Field Size | 8.02 | 8.10 | -0.91% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,222,740 | $2,808,445 | +14.75% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $297,916 | $263,157 | +13.21% |
The post Economic Indicators: U.S. Wagering Tops $12 Billion In 2021 For Highest Total Handle Since 2009 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
