Total wagering of over $972 million on races during the month represented a 0.99% increase over the same period from 2022, while available purses of $102.8 million were up by 8.41%. The figure of over $98 million for paid purses in March was up 7.55%. However, the total number of race days dropped from 294 to 284 (3.40%) and the number of U.S. races was down from 2,469 in March 2023 to last month's tally of 2,398.

Average field size in March was up over a year ago, however, and checked in at an average of 7.54 runners, an increase of 0.82%. Average daily wagering was up by 4.54% to $3,422,734 and the average available purse number per race day was up 16.79% to $362,067 from the figure of $310,014 in 2022.

For the first quarter of 2024, wagering on U.S. races declined 4.04% to $2.590 billion. Available purse money was up 0.41%, while the paid purse money was down 0.53%. Average daily wagering of $3.44 million was up by 4.75% while the average available purses per race day increased by 14.11% to $354,826.

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While available purse money increased 6.44% to $86,413,218 in February, that figure year-to-date is down 4.03% to $164,357,301.

There were 252 race days in February, compared to 263 in 2023, bringing the year-to-date total to 469 versus 528 a year ago. There were 4,007 races in January and February, compared to 4,508 during that period in 2023.

Average field size rose slightly during the first two months of the year, from 7.66 in 2023 to 7.77 in 2024.

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A graduate of the Racetrack Industry Program at the University of Arizona, Little served as a product manager for AmTote prior to joining Equibase. Before transitioning to horse racing, Little spent his career in the hospitality and customer service industry, managing four-star resorts and serving as a vice president of a leading hospitality software company.

“In a short amount of time, Scott has proven to be an invaluable asset in leading our data collection efforts, both in working with racetracks and our team,” said Kelley Kraeszig, Equibase's senior vice president for business operations and administration. “His strong background with technology and skills in project management will serve him well in this expanded role.”

Equibase Company is a partnership between The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and serves as the Thoroughbred industry's official database.

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The RQS is a composite number compiled by using speed figures for the first four finishers in each race over three years. Four speed figures are used to compile the RQS and are provided by Bloodstock Research Information Systems (BRIS), Daily Racing Form (Beyer), Equibase and Thoro-Graph.

The non-Listed black-type races are divided into six age/sex categories for the purpose of determining black type using the RQS. They are 2-year-old males, 2-year-old females, 3-year-old males, 3-year-old females, 3/up males, and 3/up females. Each age/sex category has a minimum RQS that must be achieved for a stakes race to be awarded the black type designation.

The current minimum and revised RQS for each age/sex category is listed below:

Age/Sex                           Min. RQS         Revised RQS (2025)
2-year-old males                 35.0                        36.8
2-year-old females             29.0                         30.5
3-year-old males                 54.0                        56.7
3-year-old females             45.3                         47.6
3/up males                           63.7                         66.9
3/up females                       55.8                         58.6

Click here for additional information.

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OGN Racing has more than 100 program printing kiosks deployed across the United States and Canada, which RCN intends to replace with its state-of-the-art newly designed kiosk featuring added functionality and enhancements.

“We see a great opportunity to significantly improve this aspect of the racing industry,” said RCN President & CEO Todd Roberts. “We intend to offer race and sports wagering information, including racing past performance information from Equibase and the Daily Racing Form, supplemented by video replays where requested.”

The flexible kiosk solutions that this acquisition allows RCN to offer will take the risk out of printing programs for the venue and enhance the flow of information to the consumer.

RCN intends to replace all current OGN equipment in the field with its newly designed kiosks as soon as possible. In addition, the network will make the digital display of all information available to those consumers preferring to view it on smartphones, tablets and PCs.

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Outside of the COVID year of 2020, this was the steepest decline based on percentage of handle since 2011. A total of $11,658,624,859 was wagered in 2023.

“I think we got quite a blip coming out of the pandemic when we were the only game in town,” said Marshall Gramm, an economics professor, horseplayer and the managing partner of Ten Strike Stable. “Now, I think we are feeling the real competition from sports betting. It's proliferated everywhere and at such a cheaper price point. Then we have small field sizes and the quality of the product is deteriorating. A lot of things have come together. The game is getting ever tougher for the real hardcore weekend warriors who would handle a couple hundred thousand to a million a year. They're finding this market to be a lot tougher. It's shark eats shark out there.”

In a surprising development, U.S. purses fell from $1,309,888,791 to $1,305,772,102, for a decline of .31 percent. With so much money being funneled into purses accounts from alternative forms of gambling, purses rose by 35.8% in 2021, the year after COVID. They were up 10.9 percent in 2022. With the casino market pretty saturated in this country, massive year-over-year increases in purses may be a thing of the past.

There was a reduction of 5.48% in the category of U.S. Race Days and a dip of 3.34 percent in U.S. starts.

In a somewhat encouraging development, the average field size actually showed a slight increase from 7.3 to 7.43.

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A total of $1,107,146,014 was bet on the sport during this August, while the 2022 handle figure was $1,194,362,432. In month-over-month figures, it was the sharpest drop since December when handle fell by 7.52%.

While the Saratoga meet spills over in to July and September, the majority of it is run in August. That handle fell so sharply, by 9.0%, during the meet at Saratoga, no doubt impacted the national figures. While national handle was off by $87 million in August, handle for the Saratoga meet alone fell by $78,982,675.

The monthly Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators report issued each month by Equibase continues to offer bad news when it comes to the handle front. Through August, handle is off 4.09% for the year. It has also fallen for six straight months after posting a slight increase in March.

As is often the case when the monthly reports come out, there was good news on the purse front. While the total amount of purse money paid out was virtually identical to August, 2022 numbers, the average available purses per race day figure was $324,561, a 12.62% increase from last year. For the year, $819,846,264 in purses have been paid out. In the category of average available purses per race day, that number has risen by 10%.

Average field size has actually shown a slight increase this year, going from 7.18 starters per race to 7.30.

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“I can't say enough,” he said.

Mott was smiling, but he wasn't joking.

“What can you say?” Mott said. “He sort of seems like an oddity in this day and age that he's able to stay around and still be in somewhat close to top form.”

Channel Maker has stood the tests of quality and time. The $1 million GI Sword Dancer will be the 55th start for the Ontario-bred in a career that began on July 24, 2016 with a third-place finish in a turf sprint for maidens at Woodbine. He snagged that first win for trainer Danny Vella the following month in the Vandal S. From there, it was on to a third in the GII Summer Stakes, the first of 45 graded stakes–28 of them G1–in his career. He has a record of 10-6-5 and earnings of $3,890,358.

Equibase stats show that since 1976 Channel Maker is one of 12 horses that has run in the same stake a least five times in a row. The stake had to be a Grade I at some point in its history. Of that dozen, five of them–including Channel Maker–accomplished their five-peat in the Breeders' Cup: Better Talk Now (Talkin Man), Turf; California Flag (Avenue of Flags), Turf Sprint; Channel Maker, Turf; Kona Gold (Java Gold) Sprint; and Perfect Drift (Dynaformer), Classic. Before his run in the Turf, Channel Maker ran in the GI Juvenile Turf and is the Breeders' Cup record holder with six appearances.

Channel Maker, the 2020 Eclipse Award champion turf male, is the only one in that group who has also run at least five times in a stake outside of the Breeders' Cup. He has done it twice, both in GI races–the Sword Dancer and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. He has won the Hirsch twice and the Sword Dancer once.

When he leaves the gate for the 1 1/2 mile Sword Dancer, he will pull into a tie with Desert Waves, who ran six times, winning twice, in the Niagara Handicap in the 1990s at Woodbine. Even with six, Desert Times (Alysheba) and Channel Maker will be one behind the legendary iron horse Fourstardave (Compliance), who started in the Jaipur every year between 1989 and 1995. He had a record of 1-2-2 in the Jaipur. In his five appearances in the Daryl's Joy at Saratoga, Fourstardave had two wins and two seconds. The race is now the GI Fourstardave.

During Fourstardave's remarkable 100-race career with trainer Leo O'Brien, the New York-bred gelding won at least one race at Saratoga Race Course for eight consecutive seasons.

According to Equibase statistics, the five who did their five-peats outside the Breeders' Cup are: Cozzene's Prince (Cozzene), Rothman's International; Grand Couturier {GB} (Grand Lodge), Sword Dancer; Hero's Reward (Partners Hero), Highlander S.; Interpatation (Langfuhr), Joe Hirsch; Stutz Bearcat (First Landing), Nearctic.

Channel Maker was handled by Vella for his first six starts, but was moved to Mott's care prior to an April 8, 2017 start at Keeneland after Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber bought into the ownership of the gelding. He was the Canadian champion 3-year-old male that season. His ownership group is now Wachtel Stable, Barber, R.A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing.

First seen at Saratoga as a 4-year-old in 2018, Channel Maker has made 10 starts at Saratoga and compiled a record of 3-1-1. That first summer, he finished in a dead heat for first with Glorious Empire {IRE} (Holy Roman Emperor {IRE}) in the GII Bowling Green then ended up second by three-quarters of a length to Glorious Empire in the Sword Dancer. In his standard front-running style, he won the Bowling Green again this summer, at 15-1, ending a seven-race losing streak, and is back in the Sword Dancer, his 50th start for Mott.

Since New York does not allow horses 10 and older to compete, this is likely to be Channel Maker's final appearance in Saratoga. Mott said he did not know if Channel Maker might run in 2024. He said the Bowling Green performance, which carried him to the Sword Dancer, might have been his final start.

“There were plans that if he hadn't run well the last time that maybe he'd be retired,” Mott said. “I don't think any of us want to see his form go five races beaten double digits or something like that. That's not going to happen.”

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Poole did not have a horse test positive for the substance.

Levothyroxine, commonly known by the trade name Thyro-L, is a synthetic version of the naturally-occurring hormone thyroxine.

Thyroxine is produced by the thyroid and works with the brain to control metabolism. It can be prescribed to older horses to correct hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid is underactive and the horse has an unusually slow metabolism. However, its use has raised concerns about potential risks that may come with artificially boosting the metabolism of a horse who doesn't need it and its use has been banned in some jurisdictions. Thyroxine overuse in racehorses was in the news in 2013 when the California Horse Racing Board launched an investigation into the sudden deaths of seven horses trained by Bob Baffert. Baffert told investigators at the time that he had horses in his care on thyroxine.

Once Poole was found to be in possession of the substance on June 2, he was provisionally banned by HIWU. His suspension was the first handed down by HIWU since it took over drug testing and the enforcement of penalties and suspensions on May 22. Poole's case is also the first to go through the arbitration process. Cases involving Anti-Doping Rules violations cases are heard by an Arbitral Body known as JAMS. Founded in 1979, JAMS describes itself as “the world's largest private alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider.”

Trainers who have been charged with violations on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's list of banned substances face suspensions of up to two years. The 22-month suspension is the longest suspension handed out by HISA/HIWU thus far.

According to Equibase, Poole has been training off and on since 1989. He is 50-for-459 during his career and 3-for-41 in 2023. According to the Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Regulatory Ruling's website, Poole has no prior suspensions or fines on his record.

When reached by the TDN Poole declined to comment. At deadline for this story, his attorney Brad Beilly had not returned a hone calling seeking a comment.

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