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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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Del Mar, Santa Anita Planning To Ban Thoroughbreds Racing In 1,000-Yard Events At Los Al

With the increasing popularity of running Thoroughbreds in 1,000-yard (approximately 4 1/2 furlongs) mixed-breed races at Los Alamitos, Del Mar's first condition book has stipulated that horses starting in two of those races at Los Al will be banned from racing at the Del Mar meet, reports the Daily Racing Form.

Held under allowance conditions over the past several months, the 1,000-yard races at Los Al have drawn entrants based at Santa Anita, which has, in turn, struggled to attract full fields for its dirt races.

The new policy will be enacted on July 16 at the start of the Del Mar meeting, and will extend through Santa Anita's autumn meet.

The terms in the Del Mar condition book urge trainers to communicate with racing officials at Del Mar, Santa Anita, and Golden Gate before entering at Los Al.

Numbers Up at Turfway’s Holiday Meet

Northern Kentucky’s Turfway Park wrapped up a five-week holiday meet Dec. 31 with increases in wagering, average daily handle, and field size. All-sources wagering for the meet was up to $32.3 million, a 34.6% or $8.3-million increase from last year in spite of three fewer race dates. The average daily handle of $2.48 million was up 65.6% from the previous year’s number of $1.5 million.

In addition, average field size grew slightly from 10.3 starters per race to 10.5. A new Tapeta surface was installed last summer.

Jockey Gerardo Corrales earned his first Turfway riding title with 15 wins during the holiday meet. Other leaders included Bill Morey as top trainer with six wins and owner Campos Family Ventures LLC, who tied the leading owner standings with two winners but led in earnings.

Turfway’s winter/spring meet began Jan. 1 and continues through Mar. 28.

The post Numbers Up at Turfway’s Holiday Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Handle on U.S. Racing Off Less Than One Percent in 2020

Despite a racing calendar ravaged by the coronavirus, all-sources handle on U.S. racing in 2020 declined by just .98%. According to Equibase, total handle on the year was $10,925,226,444 or $108,597,919 less than what it was in 2019.

Had the Triple Crown races not been rescheduled, it’s possible that handle might have risen on the year. The total handle for the three race days combined dropped by $208 million, or more than what handle was off for the entire year.

“The horse racing community is extremely resilient as borne out by the fact that despite the widespread and negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, pari-mutuel wagering on U.S. races held steady in 2020 at nearly $11 billion,” NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop said in a statement. “We thank both our customers and all of our essential participants on the backside and beyond for keeping the sport going and supporting the industry during what continues to be an unprecedented and challenging period, not only in the United States but around the world.”

The 2020 numbers were largely in line with the amount bet every year since 2011, when $10.77 billion was wagered. Since they have been relatively stagnant. However, the handle figure for 2020 represents a sharp decline from racing’s peak year in 2003 when a record $15.18 billion was bet.

The numbers were achieved during a year in which there was a 23.5% decline in the number of races that were run and a 25.38% drop in the number of racing programs that were offered. That was offset by a significant increase in the average amount wagered per race, which was $394,412, for a 29.4% increase over 2019. That could mean that there was little to no growth in the industry went it comes to wagering and that players simply bet the same amount of money that they did in 2019, but spread it around among fewer races.

When the major sports all shut down due to the coronavirus, horse racing had a window where it was the only legal form of sports wagering available and, thanks to its television presence, one of the few sporting events available for viewing. Whether or not racing picked up new customers during that period is open for debate.

“It will remain to be seen what the 2020 numbers mean,” said Marshall Gramm, an economics professor who is also an owner and horseplayer. “I don’t know if it’s reason to be positive or negative. I’m somewhat disappointed to see that we weren’t up on the year. But it’s hard to come out definitively to say this was a bad year or this was great year because there were so many factors involved. In many ways, there is some optimism to take away from this because handle wasn’t down as much as you might have thought with the lost days and lost events.”

Ironically, handle surged in the second half of the year, a time in which the major sports opened back up for business. After handle fell by 10.88% in the first half of the year, it increased by 9.49% in the second half. December proved to be a particularly good month, with $751.7 million wagered, an increase of 6.24%

Perhaps the most alarming number to come out Tuesday when Equibase released the year-end figures was the amount paid out in purses. Purses in 2020 totaled $869.7 million, a 25.53% drop from 2019 and the lowest amount paid out since 1997. The average purse for a race in 2020 was $31,399, a 2.7% decrease from the previous year.

The average field size for the year was 7.94, a 5.51% increase from 2019.

The post Handle on U.S. Racing Off Less Than One Percent in 2020 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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