Santa Anita's Canceled Races Depress U.S. Handle

The cancellation of Santa Anita Park racing from March 9-28, the loss of three stakes for 3-year-olds, and rescheduling of other major stakes caused a 2.83% drop in U.S. handle and a 2.69% decrease in purses for March compared to a year ago, according to figures released April 5 by Equibase.

Santa Anita shelved racing in response to a rash of fatalities during racing and training. The Arcadia, Calif., track was forced to reschedule key races but decided to outright cancel three stakes for 3-year-olds: the San Felipe Stakes (G2), originally scheduled for March 9; Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) for fillies, originally scheduled for March 10; and the China Doll Stakes scheduled for March 9.

The impact was a drop in total U.S. wagering from nearly $972.4 million in March 2018 to just more than $944.8 million last month. Without several races run, total purses also dropped from just shy of $81.8 million a year ago to $79.6 million last month.

Average wagering per race day was not as much, dropping 0.64% to $3,047,851 for 310 days. The average purses per race day dropped even less, falling 0.49% to $256,784.

Year to date, total U.S. wagering is down 3.49% and average wagering per race day is also down 3.04%. Total U.S. purses are staying stable, up 0.77% to more than $227 million through the end of March, and average purses per race day are up 1.25% to $269,039.