Tag: economic indicators

Wagering in 2021 Remains Robust

According to figures released Tuesday by Equibase, through the first three-quarters of 2021 wagering on U.S. horse racing is up 13.8% over 2020 totals. At the end of September, $9,498,141,414 had been wagered on the sport, a sizeable increase over the comparable figure of 2020 when $8,346,543,422 had been bet.

With a strong final quarter, the amount bet on U.S. racing for the year could top $12 billion. That would be the most bet during a year since $11.4 billion was wagered in 2010.

The record for most wagered in a year was set in 2003, when $15.18 billion was bet.

The gains in 2021 were achieved despite a decline of 12.32% in September and a 23.98% decrease in the category of average wagering per race day. The September numbers were skewed by the date of last year's GI Kentucky Derby, which was rescheduled due to the pandemic and held in September. The shift in the date of the Derby also led to a 2.18% decline in handle during the third quarter.

Because of COVID-19-related shutdowns, the 2021 and 2020 numbers may not line up perfectly, but there is still plenty of evidence that wagering on the sport has been growing. Equibase also released figures comparing numbers in 2021 to the pre-COVID numbers of 2019, which also point to an upward tick in wagering. The year-to-date handle figures comparing 2021 to 2019 show a 10.52% increase, including a 10.23% increase during the third quarter and a 13.71% increase during September.

In another telling statistic, when comparing 2021 to 2019 year-to-date figures, handle has risen 21.32% in the category of average wagering per race day.

It is believed that the sport may have picked up a significant amount of new customers during the early days of the pandemic in 2020 when it was among the only betting vehicles available while the major sports were shut down.

Purses have also increased during 2021. So far this year, the average amount of purses paid out per day is $274,998, which is a 9.65% increase over 2020 totals and an 8.14% increase over 2019.
Racing did not do nearly as well when it comes to the category of average field size. The number so far for 2021 is 7.16 starters per race, down from 7.87 in 2020 for a decline of 7.67%. That also represents a 1.63% decline from 2019. The 7.16 starters per race represents the lowest number in that category since the Jockey Club began keeping records in 1950.

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Economic Indicators: Rescheduled 2020 Kentucky Derby Skews September Numbers

Equibase, North American racing's official database, released Tuesday its September 2021 statistics for the industry's economic indicators, including field size, wagering, and other data, along with year-to-date and 2019 and 2020 numbers. The database distributes 2020 and 2021 numbers and includes 2019's data for comparisons to pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers.

Since the September of 2020 data includes that year's re-scheduled Kentucky Derby, it is no surprise that total wagering in September of 2021 is down significantly, by 12.32 percent. When compared with the year-to-date numbers, however, total wagering shows a positive trend: an increase of 13.80 percent.

Interestingly, the average wagering per race day category does show declines from the first nine months of 2020 compared to the first nine months of 2021, down over 10 percent. This is likely due to the fact that horse racing was one of the only viable sports on which wagering dollars could be spent during 2020, whereas most regular sporting events, and thus wagering on them, resumed during 2021.

When compared to the 2019 year-to-date figures, total wagering in 2021 is up 10.52 percent, a positive trend from pre-pandemic numbers. Race days and the number of races have continued to decrease, while field size is nearly steady at a decline of just 1.63 percent.

September 2021 vs. September 2020
Indicator September 2021 September 2020 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $911,921,042 $1,040,000,472 -12.32%
U.S. Purses $129,274,281 $110,307,205 +17.19%
U.S. Race Days 421 365 +15.34%
U.S. Races 3,365 3,101 +8.51%
U.S. Starts 24,107 24,447 -1.39%
Average Field Size 7.16 7.88 -9.13%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,166,083 $2,849,316 -23.98%
Average Purses Per Race Day $307,065 $302,212 +1.61%

3rd QTR 2021 vs. 3rd QTR 2020
Indicator 3rd QTR 2021 3rd QTR 2020 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $3,220,215,555 $3,292,016,515 -2.18%
U.S. Purses $365,390,507 $305,067,601 +19.77%
U.S. Race Days 1,321 1,208 +9.35%
U.S. Races 10,436 9,989 +4.47%
U.S. Starts 73,324 76,402 -4.03%
Average Field Size 7.03 7.65 -8.14%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,437,710 $2,725,179 -10.55%
Average Purses Per Race Day $276,601 $252,539 +9.53%

YTD 2021 vs. YTD 2020
Indicator YTD 2021 YTD 2020 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $9,498,141,414 $8,346,543,422 +13.80%
U.S. Purses $880,542,199 $629,236,249 +39.94%
U.S. Race Days 3,202 2,509 +27.62%
U.S. Races 26,228 20,895 +25.52%
U.S. Starts 190,627 164,476 +15.90%
Average Field Size 7.27 7.87 -7.67%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,966,315 $3,326,641 -10.83%
Average Purses Per Race Day $274,998 $250,792 +9.65%

2019 Comparisons:

September 2021 vs. September 2019
Indicator September 2021 September 2019 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $911,921,042 $801,998,134 +13.71%
U.S. Purses $129,274,281 $118,229,293 +9.34%
U.S. Race Days 421 412 +2.18%
U.S. Races 3,365 3,329 +1.08%
U.S. Starts 24,107 25,231 -4.45%
Average Field Size 7.16 7.58 -5.48%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,166,083 $1,946,597 +11.28%
Average Purses Per Race Day $307,065 $286,964 +7.00%

3rd QTR 2021 vs. 3rd QTR 2019
Indicator 3rd QTR 2021 3rd QTR 2019 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $3,220,215,555 $2,921,407,748 +10.23%
U.S. Purses $365,390,507 $349,864,886 +4.44%
U.S. Race Days 1,321 1,411 -6.38%
U.S. Races 10,436 11,097 -5.96%
U.S. Starts 73,324 80,738 -9.18%
Average Field Size 7.03 7.28 -3.43%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,437,710 $2,070,452 +17.74%
Average Purses Per Race Day $276,601 $247,955 +11.55%

YTD 2021 vs. YTD 2019
Indicator YTD 2021 YTD 2019 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $9,498,141,414 $8,594,182,019 +10.52%
U.S. Purses $880,542,199 $893,867,018 -1.49%
U.S. Race Days 3,202 3,515 -8.90%
U.S. Races 26,228 28,554 -8.15%
U.S. Starts 190,627 210,977 -9.65%
Average Field Size 7.27 7.39 -1.63%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,966,315 $2,445,002 +21.32%
Average Purses Per Race Day $274,998 $254,301 +8.14%

* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.

The post Economic Indicators: Rescheduled 2020 Kentucky Derby Skews September Numbers appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Equibase Economic Indicators For July: Decline In Field Size Affecting Wagering

Equibase, North American horse racing's official database, has released wagering statistics for the month of July and year to date, with comparisons to the COVID-19 influenced numbers from 2020 and pre-COVID stats from 2019. Equibase continues to supply monthly statistics during the pandemic after typically disseminating the information on a quarterly basis.

The economic indicators show a mixed bag of results, with July wagering up by 0.33 percent compared to July 2020 despite the addition of nearly 12 percent more racing days and 7.65 percent more races.

Wagering numbers undoubtedly were tempered by the nearly nine percent decline in average field size in July 2021, 6.95 horses per race compared with 7.62 in 2020. That contributed to a 10 percent decline in average wagering per race day. With fewer race days in July 2020 and for the first seven months of the year due to COVID shutdowns of some tracks, field size was greater in 2020.

Despite the stagnant July wagering, total purses jumped by more than 22 percent, with average purses per race day up by almost 10 percent.

Comparisons to July 2019 appear more favorable, with wagering up by almost 17 percent despite an eight percent drop in race days and starts. Average field size declined by 2.33 percent from July 2019 to July 2021.

Year-to-date figure comparisons to both 2020 and 2019 tell a similar story: wagering  is up double digits, but average field size has declined (though by less than one percent compared to 2019 year-to-date when there were 10 percent more race days). Total purses are up year-to-date by 51 percent compared to 2020 where there were 36 percent fewer races but they are down by 3.35 percent compared with 2019.

July 2021 vs. July 2020
Indicator July 2021 July 2020 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $1,101,617,446 $1,098,021,143 +0.33%
U.S. Purses $110,489,273 $90,220,894 +22.47%
U.S. Race Days 445 398 +11.81%
U.S. Races 3,531 3,280 +7.65%
U.S. Starts 24,527 24,984 -1.83%
Average Field Size 6.95 7.62 -8.81%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,475,545 $2,758,847 -10.27%
Average Purses Per Race Day $248,291 $226,686 +9.53%

 

YTD 2021 vs. YTD 2020
Indicator YTD 2021 YTD 2020 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $7,379,543,305 $6,152,548,050 +19.94%
U.S. Purses $625,643,005 $414,389,542 +50.98%
U.S. Race Days 2,326 1,699 +36.90%
U.S. Races 19,323 14,186 +36.21%
U.S. Starts 141,830 113,058 +25.45%
Average Field Size 7.34 7.97 -7.90%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $3,172,633 $3,621,276 -12.39%
Average Purses Per Race Day $268,978 $243,902 +10.28%

 

2019 Comparisons:

July 2021 vs. July 2019
Indicator July 2021 July 2019 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $1,101,617,446 $942,243,633 +16.91%
U.S. Purses $110,489,273 $103,342,574 +6.92%
U.S. Race Days 445 484 -8.06%
U.S. Races 3,531 3,742 -5.64%
U.S. Starts 24,527 26,612 -7.83%
Average Field Size 6.95 7.11 -2.33%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $2,475,545 $1,946,784 +27.16%
Average Purses Per Race Day $248,291 $213,518 +16.29%

 

YTD 2021 vs. YTD 2019
Indicator YTD 2021 YTD 2019 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $7,379,543,305 $6,615,017,905 +11.56%
U.S. Purses $625,643,005 $647,344,706 -3.35%
U.S. Race Days 2,326 2,588 -10.12%
U.S. Races 19,323 21,199 -8.85%
U.S. Starts 141,830 156,851 -9.58%
Average Field Size 7.34 7.40 -0.80%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $3,172,633 $2,556,035 +24.12%
Average Purses Per Race Day $268,978 $250,133 +7.53%

* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.

The post Equibase Economic Indicators For July: Decline In Field Size Affecting Wagering appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Wagering Essentially Flat, Purses Up in July

Wagering essentially stayed the same in July compared to the same month from 2020 while still showing marked improvement over corresponding 2019 numbers, according to the latest economic indicators released by Equibase. Purses continued to rise over last year's pandemic-affected levels and eclipsed 2019 numbers for July.

Overall, $1,101,617,446 was wagered on U.S. races in July 2021, compared to $1,098,021,143 in 2020, a slight uptick of 0.33%. In July of 2019, $942,243,633 was wagered, making last month's numbers a 16.91% increase over that figure. With the number of race days up, however, average wagering per race day fell 10.27% from $2,758,847 in July 2020 to $2,475,545 in July 2021. That number is still 27.16% higher than July 2019, when $1,946,784 was bet per race day.

Purses totaled $110,489,273 this July, a 22.47% increase over the sum of $90,220,894 paid out in July 2020. That figure is also 6.92% above the $103,342,574 purses totaled in July 2019.

Field size dipped below seven in July 2021, to 6.95 per race after averaging 7.62 in July 2020. The number was 7.11 in July 2019.

The post Wagering Essentially Flat, Purses Up in July appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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