06/22/2011 3:18PM

Golden Gate handle slips while Stockton's soars

By By Chuck Dybdal
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Daily average handle for the winter-spring 2010-11 Golden Gate Fields meeting showed a decline in wagering on the track’s live races, while the following four-day race meet at the San Joaquin Fair in Stockton, Calif., had double-digit increases both in ontrack handle and all-sources handle.

The average daily handle on Golden Gate’s 99 days of live racing fell 4.69 percent ontrack for the meeting that ended June 12, with a daily average of $184,401 wagered compared with $193,468 for the 105-day 2009-10 meeting. The ontrack decline for all races, including simulcasts, was 4.28 percent, with an average of $465,438 wagered daily compared with $486,248 for the previous year. Ontrack attendance showed a 3.34 percent increase with an average of 2,674 compared with 2,588 in 2009-10.The total all-sources handle for the meeting fell 21.27 percent from $194,822,480 in 2009-10 when 105 days of racing were conducted to $153,392,102 for only 99 days of racing in 2010-11.The daily all-sources handle fell 16.49 percent from $1,855,452 to $1,549,415 as out-of-state wagering fell off 20.82 percent, from $1,312,589 to $1,039,250.

Field size remained constant at an average of 6.7 runners per race.

The San Joaquin Fair, despite running only four days compared with five last year, showed double-digit increases both in ontrack handle and all-sources handle.

Free admission to the fair led to an attendance increase that was reflected in the handle. The ontrack handle for four days was $857,545, averaging $214,386, up 16 percent from the 2010 total of $742,552, an average of $148,510 over five days. The all-sources handle, including satellite, out-of-state, and advance deposit wagering jumped 15 percent, with a total of $4,399,189, a daily average of $1,099,797 wagered compared with $3,821,129 for five days in 2010, an average of $711,768.

Satellite wagering showed an 11-percent gain with $3,953,320, wagered compared with $3,558,839 in 2010 for an overall 12 percent increase for Northern California wagering with $4,810,865 wagered in four days compared with $4,300,392 in five days in 2010.