Pari-Mutuel Handle Down 10.5% for September
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Wagering on United States Thoroughbred races for September was down 10.55% from the corresponding month in 2013, according to the Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators released by Equibase Oct. 4.
Total commingled pari-mutuel handle on U.S. races was $693,548,821 in September, down more than $80 million from $775,340,152 in September 2013.
Purses for the month totaled $104,709,785, down 5.73% from $111,075,003 last September, according to Equibase. The number of race days, or individual racing programs at each track, was down 6.12% from 474 last September to 445 this year.
In conjunction with race days, the number of races fell 6.84% (3,978 to 3,706), and the number of starts fell 7.73% (from 30,922 to 28,532).
For the first nine months of 2014, wagering totaled $8,235,169,847, down 2.53% from $8,449,302,949 for the first nine months of 2013. That's a difference of more than $200 million.
Purses from January through September totaled $846,451,248, down 1.56% from $859,844,115. Race days for the period were off 2.32%, from 4,007 last year to 3,914 this year.
The number of races for the period in 2014 was 32,363, down 4.12% from 33,755 last year. The number of starts was off 6.66%, from 261,985 for the first nine months of 2013 to 244,549 for the first nine months this year.