Equibase, North American racing's official database, has released its year-end 2022 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.
The final numbers from 2022 show a 0.87 percent dip in total wagering: $12,108,807,335 this year, versus $12,215,598,838 in 2021.
This is the second year since 2009 that wagering has topped $12 billion. By comparison, the 2009 wagering total of $12.3 billion came from a total of 49,368 races; the 2022 wagering totals were from 33,453 races.
Wagering in December was down 7.5 percent year-over-year, a downward trend that extended to the entire fourth quarter of the year: total betting was down 5.5 percent in the last three months of the year, when compared to the same quarter in 2021.
Purses paid out in 2022 were very strong, up 10.92 percent from 2021 at a record total of $1,309,837,841.
Average field size did continue to decline, from 7.37 in 2021 to 7.30 in 2022. According to The Jockey Club statistics, that's the lowest figure on record (records go back to 1950).
“Thoroughbred racing purses and pari-mutuel handle continued to exhibit strength in 2022. Purses were up double-digits year-over year and reached an all-time high thanks in part to contributions from other gaming sources,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “Pari-mutuel handle was nearly equal to 2021 and the second highest since 2009. These business trends occurred during a year of unprecedented growth in legal, state regulated sports betting. The 2023 gaming landscape promises to be more competitive than ever for the sports wagering dollar. It also represents a huge opportunity to introduce pari-mutuel wagering and the sport of Thoroughbred racing to a vast new audience if we as an industry embrace the challenge.”
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.
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2021 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2021 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $12,108,807,335 | $12,215,598,838 | -0.87% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,309,837,841 | $1,180,842,882 | +10.92% |
| U.S. Race Days | 4,104 | 4,072 | +0.79% |
| U.S. Races | 33,453 | 33,565 | -0.33% |
| U.S. Starts | 244,133 | 247,405 | -1.32% |
| Average Field Size | 7.30 | 7.37 | -0.99% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,950,489 | $2,999,901 | -1.65% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $319,161 | $289,991 | +10.06% |
| December 2022 vs. December 2021 | |||
| Indicator | December 2022 | December 2021 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $748,142,136 | $808,954,882 | -7.52% |
| U.S. Purses | $83,068,942 | $74,780,035 | +11.08% |
| U.S. Race Days | 256 | 251 | +1.99% |
| U.S. Races | 2,200 | 2,151 | +2.28% |
| U.S. Starts | 17,285 | 17,257 | +0.16% |
| Average Field Size | 7.86 | 8.02 | -2.07% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,922,430 | $3,222,928 | -9.32% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $324,488 | $297,928 | +8.91% |
| 4th QTR 2022 vs. 4th QTR 2021 | |||
| Indicator | 4th QTR 2022 | 4th QTR 2021 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $2,569,665,204 | $2,720,404,107 | -5.54% |
| U.S. Purses | $327,833,091 | $300,288,903 | +9.17% |
| U.S. Race Days | 881 | 870 | +1.26% |
| U.S. Races | 7,442 | 7,339 | +1.40% |
| U.S. Starts | 57,174 | 56,789 | +0.68% |
| Average Field Size | 7.68 | 7.74 | -0.72% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,916,760 | $3,126,901 | -6.72% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $372,115 | $345,160 | +7.81% |
2020 Comparisons:
| December 2022 vs. December 2020 | |||
| Indicator | December 2022 | December 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $748,142,136 | $751,783,126 | -0.48% |
| U.S. Purses | $83,068,942 | $57,534,410 | +44.38% |
| U.S. Race Days | 256 | 229 | +11.79% |
| U.S. Races | 2,200 | 2,008 | +9.56% |
| U.S. Starts | 17,285 | 16,884 | +2.38% |
| Average Field Size | 7.86 | 8.41 | -6.56% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,922,430 | $3,282,896 | -10.98% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $324,488 | $251,242 | +29.15% |
| 4th QTR 2022 vs. 4th QTR 2020 | |||
| Indicator | 4th QTR 2022 | 4th QTR 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $2,569,665,204 | $2,576,392,869 | -0.26% |
| U.S. Purses | $327,833,091 | $240,534,957 | +36.29% |
| U.S. Race Days | 881 | 793 | +11.10% |
| U.S. Races | 7,442 | 6,805 | +9.36% |
| U.S. Starts | 57,174 | 55,530 | +2.96% |
| Average Field Size | 7.68 | 8.16 | -5.85% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,916,760 | $3,248,919 | -10.22% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $372,115 | $303,323 | +22.68% |
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2020 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $12,108,807,335 | $10,922,936,290 | +10.86% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,309,837,841 | $869,771,206 | +50.60% |
| U.S. Race Days | 4,104 | 3,302 | +24.29% |
| U.S. Races | 33,453 | 27,700 | +20.77% |
| U.S. Starts | 244,133 | 220,006 | +10.97% |
| Average Field Size | 7.30 | 7.94 | -8.12% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,950,489 | $3,307,976 | -10.81% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $319,161 | $263,407 | +21.17% |
2019 Comparisons:
| December 2022 vs. December 2019 | |||
| Indicator | December 2022 | December 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $748,142,136 | $707,728,171 | +5.71% |
| U.S. Purses | $83,068,942 | $66,315,581 | +25.26% |
| U.S. Race Days | 256 | 252 | +1.59% |
| U.S. Races | 2,200 | 2,169 | +1.43% |
| U.S. Starts | 17,285 | 17,561 | -1.57% |
| Average Field Size | 7.86 | 8.10 | -2.96% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,922,430 | $2,808,445 | +4.06% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $324,488 | $263,157 | +23.31% |
| 4th QTR 2022 vs. 4th QTR 2019 | |||
| Indicator | 4th QTR 2022 | 4th QTR 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $2,569,665,204 | $2,439,642,344 | +5.33% |
| U.S. Purses | $327,833,091 | $274,053,649 | +19.62% |
| U.S. Race Days | 881 | 910 | -3.19% |
| U.S. Races | 7,442 | 7,653 | -2.76% |
| U.S. Starts | 57,174 | 61,576 | -7.15% |
| Average Field Size | 7.68 | 8.05 | -4.52% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,916,760 | $2,680,926 | +8.80% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $372,115 | $301,158 | +23.56% |
| YTD 2022 vs. YTD 2019 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2022 | YTD 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $12,108,807,335 | $11,033,824,363 | +9.74% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,309,837,841 | $1,167,920,667 | +12.15% |
| U.S. Race Days | 4,104 | 4,425 | -7.25% |
| U.S. Races | 33,453 | 36,207 | -7.61% |
| U.S. Starts | 244,133 | 272,553 | -10.43% |
| Average Field Size | 7.30 | 7.53 | -3.05% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,950,489 | $2,493,520 | +18.33% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $319,161 | $263,937 | +20.92% |
* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.
The post Economic Indicators: Wagering Down Slightly In 2022, Purses Reach Record High appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
