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Average Daily Handle Up 42 Percent During Belmont’s Spring/Summer Meet

The New York Racing Association Inc., (NYRA) today announced that the Belmont Park spring/summer meet generated $15,466,198 in average daily handle from all sources, a 42 percent increase over the 2019 spring/summer meet.

Abbreviated to 25-days and held without spectators in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the opening of the spring/summer meet on Wednesday, June 3 marked the return of professional sports in New York and was conducted with strict health and safety protocols in place.

“We would like to thank the horseplayers for their enthusiastic support of New York racing during this most unusual spring/summer meet,” said NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke. “That we were able to resume racing on June 3, and usher in the return of professional sports in New York, reflects the dedication and professionalism of the racing community during these uncertain and challenging times.”

Despite running 23 fewer days than in 2019, a 48 percent decrease, all sources handle during the spring/summer meet totaled $386,654,955.

Average field size over the 248 races carded was 8.61, a 23 percent increase over 2019. Five races were taken off the turf due to weather, and all five came on July 10 with the impact of Tropical Storm Fay.

The June 20 Belmont Stakes Day card, which featured 12 races and six graded stakes, highlighted by Tiz the Law's victory in the 152nd running of the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes, generated all sources handle of $67,753,336.

The 2019 spring/summer meet, which was contested across 48 live race days, generated all sources handle of $524,051,324 and average daily handle of $10,917,736. 448 races were run in total with 46 races taken off the turf due to weather. Average field size was 6.98.

Chad Brown notched 23 wins to finish as the leading trainer at the 2020 Belmont spring/summer meet for the fifth consecutive time and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. posted 34 victories to lead all riders as the 25-day meet concluded on Sunday at Belmont Park.

Klaravich Stables led all owners with 13 wins, outpacing second-place finisher Michael Dubb, who had seven victories.

The 2020 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course will begin on Thursday, July 16 and run through Labor Day, Monday, September 7. Following the four-day opening weekend, live racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays.

Under current New York State guidelines, Saratoga Race Course will open without spectators in attendance. The 40-day meet will be highlighted by the 151st renewal of the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers on Saturday, August 8 and the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney on Saturday, August 1.

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule

The post Average Daily Handle Up 42 Percent During Belmont’s Spring/Summer Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Quartet Of Turf Races, Large Field Sizes Highlight Friday’s Stronach 5

Four turf races, average fields of 11.2, and a $100,000 guaranteed pool make up Friday's competitive and exciting Stronach 5

The Stronach 5, featuring races from Laurel Park and Gulfstream Park Friday, continues to offer a strong return on investment. Consider last week when the Stronach 5 returned $12,804 with the highest-price winner being $12.20.

The action kicks off at 3:19 p.m. and Laurel's sixth race with a dozen maiden claimers going 5 1/2 furlongs on the Dahlia Turf Course. The only race scheduled on the main track is Laurel's seventh, a 6 ½ furlong for 3-year-olds and up. Laurel's eighth race, which concludes the Stronach 5 sequence, is an allowance event over a 5 ½ furlong course.

Both of Gulfstream's races – the eighth and ninth – and five furlong turf events for claimers 3 and up.

Friday's races and sequence

· Leg One – Laurel Park 6th Race: (12 entries, 5 1/2 furlongs turf) 3:19 ET, 12:19 PT

· Leg Two –Gulfstream Park 8th Race: (10 entries, 5 furlongs turf) 3:30 ET, 12:30 PT

· Leg Three –Laurel Park 7th Race: (10 entries, 6 ½ furlongs) 3:50 ET, 12:50 PT

· Leg Four –Gulfstream Park 9th Race: (12 entries, 5 furlongs turf) 4 ET, 1 PT

· Leg Five –Laurel Park 8th race: (12 entries, 5 ½ furlongs turf) 4:21 ET, 1:21 PT

All-Star Ticket: https://www.xbtv.com/video/workout/stronach-5-all-star-ticket-for-july-10th-2020/

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

The post Quartet Of Turf Races, Large Field Sizes Highlight Friday’s Stronach 5 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Handle Rebounds in June

According to figures supplied by Equibase, total wagering on U.S. races rose slightly in June, a welcome development after handle plummeted in March, April and May, the months when racing was most impacted by the coronavirus.

A total of $998,448,300 was bet during the month, a 0.76% increase over 2019 numbers. Handle was off by 30.16& percent in May, 24.42% in April and 22.8% in March.

The improved handle numbers were the result of more racetracks opening up, albeit most without fans allowed in the stands. The number of races run in June was 2,485, while 3,905 were held during June 2019. While those numbers represent a 36.36% decline, they are an improvement over previous months. In May and in April, the number of races run was off by 70% or more.

At least in June, there was a leveling off of handle. Virtually the same amount was bet during June 2020 as was wagered in 2019, but it was spread among fewer tracks. That appears to be one of the reasons handle was up sharply during the month at some tracks. The average amount wagered on a racing program in June was $3.3 million, a robust 67.6% increase from a year ago.

Field size also appears to be driving handle. With fewer opportunities available to horses, the average field size in June was 8.11. It was 7.10 a year ago. During the second quarter, which includes April, May and June, average field size was up 16.55%.

With fewer races available, the amount of purse money paid out during the month fell by 39.7%, from $115,194,834 to $69,463,605.

The second quarter numbers are a better indicator of the toll the coronavirus has taken on the sport. A total of $2.5 billion was bet during the quarter, an 18.85% decline from a year earlier when the amount wagered was $3.1 billion. The number of race days declined by 59.68% and purses fell by 62.47%.

For the year, the picture doesn’t look as bleak as one might expect for a sport that has had to deal with a pandemic. Handle for the year has been $5,055,510, a 10.88% decline from 2019 figures. Purses for the year are down 40.41%.

The post Handle Rebounds in June appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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