Aqueduct numbers mixed

Ontrack handle and attendance figures for Aqueduct's 89-day winter meeting fell sharply, while all-sources handle rose, according to figures provided by the New York Racing Association on Friday. Aqueduct's meet ended on May 2.

Average ontrack handle at Aqueduct on the track's races fell 6.5 percent, from $792,573 to $740,765, while average ontrack attendance dropped 15.7 percent, from 4,442 to 3,742. Winter temperatures this year in New York were some of the coldest on record, and rain and snow were also more common than usual.

Despite the poor ontrack returns, all-sources handle increased 6.4 percent from an average of $7,860,616 to $8,364,582.

"We were pleased with the results of the overall handle, because any time you can handle $8.4 million during that time of the year that's something, but the ontrack numbers were pretty disappointing," said Bill Nader, NYRA's senior vice president.