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NYRA Registers All-Sources Handle Of $2.32 Billion In 2022

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) generated all-sources handle of $2,321,863,828 during its 2022 race meets conducted at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. The year was highlighted by the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course where all-sources wagering rose to a record $878,211,963 in 2022, eclipsing the previous high-water mark by nearly 8%. In addition, the 2022 summer meet generated average daily handle of $21,955,299, which is the highest such figure in the history of Saratoga.

On-track handle in 2022, which includes New York residents wagering through NYRA Bets, totaled $291,438,542, 9.2% higher than the 2021 total of $266,978,634.

Inclement weather forced the cancellation of six race days in 2022. As a result, NYRA conducted 196 live race days with average daily handle of $11,846,244.

Average field size for the 1,855 races contested in 2022 was 7.48, a 2.6% decrease from 2021.

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Purses Set Record In 2022 But Handle Drops Slightly

According to figures released Thursday by Equibase, a robust $1,309,837,841 in purse money was paid out during the year in the U.S., an increase of 10.92% and an all-time record for the sport.

Total handle on U.S. racing in 2022 was $12,108,807,335, a decrease of 0.87% when compared to 2021 numbers. The total bet in 2021 was $12,215,598,838.

“Thoroughbred racing purses and pari-mutuel handle continued to exhibit strength in 2022,” NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney said in a statement. “Purses were up double-digits year-over year and reached an all-time high thanks in part to contributions from other gaming sources. Pari-mutuel handle was nearly equal to 2021 and the second highest since 2009. These business trends occurred during a year of unprecedented growth in legal, state regulated sports betting. The 2023 gaming landscape promises to be more competitive than ever for the sports wagering dollar. It also represents a huge opportunity to introduce pari-mutuel wagering and the sport of Thoroughbred racing to a vast new audience if we as an industry embrace the challenge.”

While wagering appears to be going through a period of relative stagnation, purses have never been better. The Jockey Club's Fact Book records purse data going back to 1988 when $676 million was paid out. Purses have nearly doubled since then and the 10.92% increase was the largest for the sport in a non-COVID year since the Jockey Club began collecting data.

Average purses paid out per day were $319,161, a 10.06% increase over 2021.

That purses are up in a year where handle fell is indicative of racing's increasing reliance on revenues from slot machines, Historical Horse Racing machines and other casino games. Kentucky, in particular, has seen huge increases in purses thanks to the popularity of the Historical Horse Racing Machines.

For reasons that remain unclear, betting fell significantly during the final quarter of the year and during December. Handle was off by 5.54% during the final quarter and by 7.52% in December.

Despite the drop, the news was not all bad. Handle broke the $12 billion mark for just the second time since 2009. After the betting numbers fell to $10.9 billion in 2020, when COVID-19 played havoc on racing schedules, handle was up 11.8% in 2021. Many have speculated that the increase was due to the sport attracting new customers while bettors were shut out from playing other sports during the pandemic.

The sport still has a long way to go before it can equal the type of handle figures that were being posted in the early 2000s. A record of $15.18 billion was wagered in 2003, the second year during a three-year stretch where handle eclipsed the $15 billion mark.

In the case of most other parameters, there was little movement between 2022 and 2021 figures. There were 33,453 races run during the year, a decline of just 0.33%. The total number of starts was 244,133, a drop of 1.31%. The average field size was 7.30, a slight drop from 2021 when the number was 7.37. The 7.30 number represented the smallest average field size since 1950 when the Jockey Club started keeping records.

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Spendthrift Newcomers Feature Pair of Juvenile Stakes Winners

Spendthrift Farm has added four new stallions to their extensive roster for 2023. Of those, two carry the weighty distinction of winning a graded stake at two. Both precocious horses furthered their success on the racetrack after their juvenile campaigns.

Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo – Callingmissbrown, by Pulpit) took home a hard-fought win in the 2021 GII Remsen S. and went on to claim a Classic victory this year. His new studmate Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music – Unicorn Girl, by A.P. Five Hundred) came close to an undefeated season at two, but upped his game at three to be named Eclipse Champion Sprinter in 2021.

Jackie's Warrior's remarkable career highlighted by five Grade I scores started off with his domination of New York's juvenile division in 2020. Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker admits that ahead of the colt's stakes debut in the GII Saratoga Special S., their stallion nominations team was eyeing a different race contender. But after a call in to Steve Asmussen's assistant Scott Blasi, who said that Jackie's Warrior was the one they needed to look out for, they turned their attention to the bay son of Maclean's Music.

“The next thing you know, the horse does just what Scott said he was going to do and I'm on a plane headed up there trying to get a deal done,” Toothaker recalled with a laugh. “We were very fortunate to be able to get involved with him early.”

After his three-length win in the Saratoga Special, Jackie's Warrior established a new stakes record in the Hopeful and then earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure in his 5 1/2-length Champagne win.

“It takes a special 2-year-old to be able to do what he did,” Toothaker explained. “What was amazing was how big and strong he was. He is a heavily-muscled horse with a lot of bone. When you first saw him as a 2-year-old, you're thinking that this is the biggest kid on the playground.”

During his Eclipse-worthy sophomore season, Jackie's Warrior reeled off four graded stakes wins highlighted by the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., where he went head-to-head with MGISW Life Is Good (Into Mischief). His four graded stakes wins at four included his fifth straight win at Saratoga in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H., where he became the first horse in the storied track's 159-year history to win a Grade I in three consecutive seasons.

Toothaker recalled visiting Jackie's Warrior one morning during Derby week ahead of the sprinter's win in the GI Churchill Downs S. The backside was hectic and the Asmussen team had several high-profile contenders entered for that weekend, but the quietly composed Steve Asmussen spent over half an hour talking about his superstar trainee.

“He was so proud that he had bought the horse for $95,000 at the Keeneland Sale,” Toothaker said. “He said, 'Tooth, where were all the experts? Did they all go to lunch when he sold?' He was very proud that he had picked out the horse for the Robisons, who are wonderful people. Getting to meet Kirk and Judy Robison and develop a friendship with them and their children and grandchildren over the last three years has just been amazing.”

Jackie's Warrior, the highest-earning son of Maclean's Music, will stand for $50,000 in 2023. The champion has been in high demand with breeders and has already amassed a high-quality book to kick off his stud career.

“I've had so many people come out to the farm and say that he might be the best one they've seen of all the new [stallions],” Toothaker said. “Almost every mare that he got was a stakes winner or a stakes producer, so he's going to get every opportunity.”

Spendthrift's Mo Donegal has been received by breeders with similar enthusiasm.

“We love to have sons of Uncle Mo because that is what our breeders want,” Toothaker explained. “Last year [Spendthrift sire] Yaupon was the second most-popular horse in North America. Mo Donegal is a big, stretchy horse. What I love about him is that even though he stands over a lot of ground at 16'2 and a half, he's got a beautiful frame on him and a really nice hip.”

Going two for three as a juvenile, Mo Donegal claimed an exciting edition of the GII Remsen S. when he battled future Grade I winner Zandon (Upstart) down the stretch and survived a stewards' inquiry to get the win by a nose. The Todd Pletcher pupil ran third in this year's GIII Holy Bull S. before adding a win in the GII Wood Memorial S. over eventual GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting (Gun Runner). In the GI Kentucky Derby, he drew the rail and raced 10 wide in the stretch to get up for fifth.

Mike Repole obtained a minority interest in Mo Donegal shortly before his Kentucky Derby bid and was rewarded in the colt's next and final start in the GI Belmont S., where he finished three length ahead of the runner-up, fellow Ashview Farm/Colts Neck Stables-bred Nest (Curlin), who is also co-owned by Repole Stables.

“I know that was a very special day for Mike and his family, the Lyster family and for Todd,” said Toothaker. “With Mo Donegal, one of the biggest factors for us has been that Mike Repole is our partner. Mike brings so much energy and when you've got a guy that buys 71 yearlings at the Keeneland Sale, that was a huge thing for us to know that we had his support like we have on Vino Rosso.”

One of Uncle Mo's top three leading earners along with fellow Classic winner Nyquist, a top third-crop sire this year, as well as champion Golden Pal, who is also set to begin his stud career in 2023, Mo Donegal will stand for $20,000. His dam Callingmissbrown, a daughter of GI Acorn S. victress and GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up Island Sand (Tabasco Cat), has produced two others winners including her 2-year-old daughter Prank (Into Mischief), who was named a 'TDN Rising Star' after her 9 3/4-length debut win at Saratoga this summer.

“For Mo Donegal to win a graded stake at two in the Remsen, which is a tough, grueling race at a mile and an eighth, but yet be able to do what he did as a 3-year-old in the Wood Memorial and top it off in the Belmont, it takes a very good horse to be able to do that,” Toothaker noted. “Mo Donegal was one of the absolute best of his class. It's a lot to offer breeders, especially for $20,000.”

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Twelve Questions: Kelsey Lupo

A native of upstate New York, Kelsey Lupo spent summers at Saratoga learning to read the Form. With a degree in Animal Science from the University of Massachusetts, she has lived all of over the world working for stud farms in places like Kentucky, Ireland, Australia, England, and France. Bolstering her resume, she completed the Kentucky Equine Management Internship and the Irish National Stud Breeding Course. As the principal for Atlas Bloodstock, she advises on a wide range of services, while utilizing her extensive experience with all things bloodstock.

Racing or bloodstock highlight of the year?
For me personally, it was watching Lezoo win the G1 Cheveley Park S., and for an all-around highlight of the year, I would say watching and participating in the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. It was fantastic racing with incredible stories and outcomes.

Value sire for the 2023 season?
I would say Cracksman would be the value sire at £17,500. He has had some good performers as 2-year-olds, but you could think they will be better 3-year-olds, as Cracksman himself was better as he got older.

Who will be the leading freshman sire next year?
I think Advertise will be a top contender for that spot. The yearlings by him looked quite precocious and could fit the 2-year-old campaign in Europe rather nicely. They also look like a type that will be attractive to international buyers to race on various circuits around the world.

Most respected stallion–current?
You can't deny Dubawi. He doesn't command his high stud fee and selective broodmare band for nothing.

Favorite sales ring moment?
Selling one of my first pinhook horses at Keeneland that I bought for $20k and seeing her go for $97k. I was so excited to have a successful pinhook on my own in the first year.

Name one positive change you'd like to see in racing next year?
Seeing the purse structure improve in the UK to have not only the prestige of top racing, but financially as well.

If you could only go to one track the rest of your life, where would it be?
There are many beautiful tracks that I have visited, but I would say I have to go back to where it all started for me at Saratoga. The racetrack experience, the vibe, and the culture is like no other. I grew up going there and fell in love with the industry.

How about the breakout stallion of 2022?
Havana Grey was certainly impressive with his 2-year-olds this year.

If you could bring back one racetrack from the past, which one would it be and why?
I think it would be Hialeah Park in Florida during the glory days of Thoroughbred racing. I have heard industry mentors of mine talk about their experiences and what it was like. I would have loved to see it for myself.

As you know, we name 'TDN Rising Stars;' which one(s) are you most looking forward to seeing run in 2023?
I am looking forward to seeing Auguste Rodin. I thought his Doncaster performance in the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S. was a step above and showed true class.

In the next 10 years, what do you think will be the most significant change when it comes to the bloodstock business in North America?
The online sales market is already proving itself. I think we will see exponential growth in this arena. Thus, we will see major impacts on the bloodstock industry, especially when it comes to buying on the private market for horses in training.

And finally, your favorite Thoroughbred of all-time is…?
My favorite horse would be Zenyatta. She gave so much to the sport and to the fan base. She was positive for the industry and touched so many hearts during her campaign.

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