BC Helps Boost Wagering Numbers for October
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The Friday, Oct. 31, program of the Breeders' Cup World Championships helped lead to a 2.72% increase in total commingled pari-mutuel handle on United States racing in October compared with the same month in 2013.
Last year, both days of the World Championships were held in November. Total handle for the 10-race program at Santa Anita Park Oct. 31 reached $45.81 million.
According to the Thoroughbred Racing Economic Indicators compiled by Equibase, wagering on U.S. races in October totaled $824,523,157, up from $802,699,099 in October 2013. The number of race days increased 0.73% to 414 from 411 last year; the number of races was up 0.46% to 3,477 from 3,461; and the number of starts was down 0.04% to 28,351 from 28,361.
U.S. purses in October totaled $104,767,862, up 11.31% from $94,121,505 in large part because of the first day of Breeders' Cup.
For the first 10 months of 2014, total commingled wagering is down 2.08% at $9,059,693,002 from $9,252,002,048 from January through October 2013, according to Equibase. Purses were down 0.29% to $951,230,815 from $953,965,620.
The number of race days from January through October 2014 was 4,328, down 2.04% from 4,418 for the first 10 months of 2013. The number of races was down 3.7% to 35,840, from 37,216, while the number of starts was down 6.01% to 272,900 from 290,348 last year.