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Wagering Essentially Flat, Purses Up in July

Wagering essentially stayed the same in July compared to the same month from 2020 while still showing marked improvement over corresponding 2019 numbers, according to the latest economic indicators released by Equibase. Purses continued to rise over last year's pandemic-affected levels and eclipsed 2019 numbers for July.

Overall, $1,101,617,446 was wagered on U.S. races in July 2021, compared to $1,098,021,143 in 2020, a slight uptick of 0.33%. In July of 2019, $942,243,633 was wagered, making last month's numbers a 16.91% increase over that figure. With the number of race days up, however, average wagering per race day fell 10.27% from $2,758,847 in July 2020 to $2,475,545 in July 2021. That number is still 27.16% higher than July 2019, when $1,946,784 was bet per race day.

Purses totaled $110,489,273 this July, a 22.47% increase over the sum of $90,220,894 paid out in July 2020. That figure is also 6.92% above the $103,342,574 purses totaled in July 2019.

Field size dipped below seven in July 2021, to 6.95 per race after averaging 7.62 in July 2020. The number was 7.11 in July 2019.

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Santa Anita to Offer ‘Ship & Win’ in Fall

Santa Anita will continue the “Ship & Win” program this fall at the Autumn Meet, which opens Friday, Oct. 1. The program began this past May at the Arcadia track, is currently a part of Del Mar's summer meet, and will continue through the fall. “Ship & Win” provides a $3,000 bonus and a 35% increase in purse earnings for any horse that has not run in California for one year. In addition, any new out-of-state horses coming to Santa Anita which meet requirements or which have made their first start in the Del Mar “Ship & Win” program remain eligible for the same benefits in their first start at Santa Anita.

“This program has proven to be a primary driver in our efforts to bring horses to California from all over the nation,” said Santa Anita's director of racing and racing secretary, Chris Merz. “We started to see some horses coming here in May and June and Del Mar has done a tremendous job of recruiting, which we are confident is going to be of significant benefit to the entire circuit here. Along with Del Mar, the Thoroughbred Owners of California [TOC] have been very supportive in the implementation of 'Ship & Win' and it's great to have all of us working together for the benefit of racing in California.”

More information is available through the Santa Anita Racing Office at (626) 574- 6352.

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NYRA, FOX Sports TV Analyst Acacia Courtney Joins Writers’ Room

One of the stars of the successful New York Racing Association and Fox Sports daily broadcast from Saratoga, Acacia Courtney joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Wednesday morning. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Courtney gave her impressions on the early part of the Saratoga meet and talked strategy when it comes to analyzing the 2-year-old races that are so integral to the programs at the Spa.

Asked about the different feeling in the air at tracks this year with fans back in attendance, Courtney said, “One of the greatest things about horse racing is the swell of the crowd and people cheering. If there's a photo finish, you hear the groan one way or the other. I think that throughout the past year, we almost kind of got used to it being quiet. So opening day just felt so great. Everybody seemed happy, everybody was enjoying themselves, even if their tickets were losing, and getting a chance to see some of the fans, people coming over and saying that they had watched our show during quarantine and how much they appreciated what we had been doing really meant a lot because–and I always say you don't want to sound spoiled because I was one of the few people that got to be at Saratoga last summer. But you were drained at the end of the day because there was no crowd. There wasn't the same level of excitement as there is this year.”

Elsewhere in the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, Spendthrift Farm, Legacy Bloodstock, Woodford Thoroughbreds and the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association's 2021 Yearling Sale, the writers talked about what the latest developments in the FBI indictments case mean, remembered the great Bernardini and looked forward to a monster weekend of racing. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Mini-Golf Challenge Supports NY Backstretch Charities

NYRA TV analysts Andy Serling and Anthony Stabile, who kiddingly challenged one another to mini-golf during the July 18 broadcast of Talking Horses, joined forces with Three Diamonds Farm's Kirk Wycoff and Nové Italian Restaurant's Louis Lazzinnaro and by the conclusion of the mini-golf game at the Goony Golf in Lake George, N.Y. Aug. 2, the two-on-two matchup had raised $100,000 for New York-based backstretch organizations. Bolstered by Wycoff's three holes-in-one, the Serling/Wycoff team defeated Stabile and Lazzinnaro, otherwise known as “Team Nové,” by 15 strokes.

“It's a testament to the generosity of people in horse racing,” said Serling. “And it shows what can happen when a lot of people gather and are ready to have some fun, which affords the opportunity to create real benefit. That's one of the beauties of Saratoga, which lends itself very well to that.”

Sharing the donations: the Saratoga-based aftercare organizations Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation; Old Friends at Cabin Creek; the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America, New York Division; and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA), which serve backstretch communities in New York.

“Kirk Wycoff is one of the greatest mini-golfers I've ever seen,” said Stabile, who serves as a member on the BCCA advisory board. “In this case, it's just fine to be on the short end. There's never a bad time to donate. But given that the BCCA has just opened its Saratoga child care center to go along with the one they operate at Belmont Park, it's great timing.”

Lazzinnaro added, “All are superstar organizations. The people who work there have dedicated their lives to what they do. That's why it's great this worked out.”

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