Welcome to Noel Michaels’ Weekend Winners, the place to go for weekend best bets and spot plays from veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer Noel Michaels. Check back every week for a couple of highlighted selections designed to help you cash a few bets and make some money.
Tag: Gambling
Big-Race Showdown: Key Derby Trail Races in New York, Kentucky, and California
For the seventh year in a row, America’s Best Racing is challenging some of the brightest minds in horse betting to come up with their top three picks for key races every weekend leading up to the 2023 Triple Crown and then continuing through the 2023 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The handicappers face off in what we like to call the “Big Race Showdown.”
Wagering Does An About Face, Increases In March
After wagering dropped by a troubling 6.22% through the first two months of the year, the sport rebounded in March. According to figures released Thursday by Equibase, handle was up 2.14% during the month when compared to 2022. A total of $962,703,949 was wagered in March. In the category of average wagering per race day, there was an increase of 1.10%.
Handle is still down by 3.40% for the year.
The advances reversed a trend that began in October of last year. Handle fell by 4.93% in October and continued to drop over the next four months. From October through February, handle fell by a total of $263,808,165, for a decline of 5.8%.
The decline in handle has not affected purses, which continue to benefit from slot machines, historical horse racing and other non-racing sources. Total purses paid out in March added up to $94,783,996 for an increase of 9.16%. Through the first three months of the year, over $266 million in purses have been paid out, which represents an increase of 8.70%.
The numbers for average field size have kept pace with 2022 figures. The average field size for the year has been 7.59 starters per race, for an increase of 0.48%. And though many tracks have contracted their racing schedules in recent years, 6,977 races were run during the first three months of the year for an increase of 3.09%.
The post Wagering Does An About Face, Increases In March appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Betting a 10-1 Longshot in the Wood Memorial Stakes
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher knows what it takes to win the $750,000, Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes Presented by Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct.
