Equibase, North American racing's official database, released Monday its November 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.
Led by a record handle at the Del Mar-hosted Breeders' Cup World Championships on Nov. 5 and 6 ($183,260,127, a two-day record for the championship event), November's total wagering numbers were up 7.40 percent over the same month in 2020. Part of the reason for the increase could be the return of in-person attendance to the Breeders' Cup, which was severely restricted at Keeneland in 2020.
When Del Mar last hosted the Breeders' Cup in 2017, it posted a then-record handle of $166,077,486. The new mark is 10.4 percent higher than that.
Compared to 2019, this November's handle was only 0.62 percent higher, though average wagering per race day sustained a solid 12.04 percent bump between November of 2019 and November of 2021.
Though purses and race days are both up over 25 percent from the same month in 2020, average daily wagering saw a sharp decrease of 17.33 percent, while the year-to-date figures for average wagering are also down nearly 10 percent. That contrasts sharply with the numbers from 2019, which put average wagering up over 20 percent from the first 11 months of 2019 to the same period in 2021.
The discrepancy could be explained by the increased attention horse racing experienced during the harshest months of the pandemic in 2020; this year's return to a more normal sports schedule and in-person activities could definitely play a role in where wagering dollars have been spent.
| November 2021 vs. November 2020 | |||
| Indicator | November 2021 | November 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $961,813,331 | $895,546,532 | +7.40% |
| U.S. Purses | $117,678,625 | $92,095,830 | +27.78% |
| U.S. Race Days | 291 | 224 | +29.91% |
| U.S. Races | 2,440 | 1,945 | +25.45% |
| U.S. Starts | 18,782 | 16,236 | +15.68% |
| Average Field Size | 7.70 | 8.35 | -7.79% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,305,200 | $3,997,976 | -17.3`3% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $404,394 | $411,142 | -1.64% |
| YTD 2021 vs. YTD 2020 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2021 | YTD 2020 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $11,409,728,296 | $10,171,153,164 | +12.18% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,106,048,142 | $812,236,796 | +36.17% |
| U.S. Race Days | 3,821 | 3,073 | +24.34% |
| U.S. Races | 31,415 | 25,692 | +22.28% |
| U.S. Starts | 230,147 | 203,122 | +13.30% |
| Average Field Size | 7.33 | 7.91 | -7.34% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,986,058 | $3,309,845 | -9.78% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $289,466 | $264,314 | +9.52% |
2019 Comparisons:
| November 2021 vs. November 2019 | |||
| Indicator | November 2021 | November 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $961,813,331 | $955,843,009 | +0.62% |
| U.S. Purses | $117,678,625 | $115,756,315 | +1.66% |
| U.S. Race Days | 291 | 324 | -10.19% |
| U.S. Races | 2,440 | 2,730 | -10.62% |
| U.S. Starts | 18,782 | 21,839 | -14.00% |
| Average Field Size | 7.70 | 8.00 | -3.78% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $3,305,200 | $2,950,133 | +12.04% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $404,394 | $357,273 | +13.19% |
| YTD 2021 vs. YTD 2019 | |||
| Indicator | YTD 2021 | YTD 2019 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. Races* | $11,409,728,296 | $10,326,096,192 | +10.49% |
| U.S. Purses | $1,106,048,142 | $1,101,605,086 | +0.40% |
| U.S. Race Days | 3,821 | 4,173 | -8.44% |
| U.S. Races | 31,415 | 34,038 | -7.71% |
| U.S. Starts | 230,147 | 254,992 | -9.74% |
| Average Field Size | 7.33 | 7.49 | -2.21% |
| Average Wagering Per Race Day | $2,986,058 | $2,474,502 | +20.67% |
| Average Purses Per Race Day | $289,466 | $263,984 | +9.65% |
* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.
The post Economic Indicators: Record Breeders’ Cup Handle Leads Slight Wagering Increases In November appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
