Attendance down as Del Mar opens fall meet

Del Mar struggled to attract ontrack business from Thursday through Sunday for the opening week of its autumn meeting but benefited from strong all-sources handle helped by simulcasts of the Breeders’ Cup races from Kentucky.

According to figures released on a nightly basis, Del Mar had an average attendance of 4,476 for the first four days of the meeting. The Thursday opening-day card attracted 6,144, far below the 11,515 who attended the opening day of the 2014 autumn meeting, which was held on a Friday.

This is the second year Del Mar has hosted an autumn meeting, replacing dates previously held by Hollywood Park, which closed in 2013. This year’s autumn season will run for 20 racing days through Nov. 29.

The 2014 autumn meeting ran for 15 days and had an average attendance of 9,055.

Over the weekend, the track competed with Halloween events on Saturday, which may have kept some families from attending the races. Del Mar did not race on Halloween during its 15-day autumn meeting in 2014.

Average ontrack handle for this year’s opening week was $892,567. Of the four days, only the Saturday program, which had an ontrack handle of $1,556,350, exceeded the $1 million mark.

The average all-sources handle, which includes satellite and account-wagering sources, was $11,220,983. The Saturday program had an all-sources handle of $18,483,041, a record for a Del Mar autumn meeting.

The average all-sources handle for the 2014 autumn meeting was $10.4 million.

“Handle was fun to look at,” track president Joe Harper said on Monday. “Attendance was not too much fun. When we start with promotions and concerts, it should pick up.”

Thursday’s opening day was a little more than seven weeks after the conclusion of the track’s summer meeting on Labor Day.

“It seemed to me that we just finished, and we’re starting again,” Harper said. “I didn’t get the feeling that we’re starting something new.”

Field size hindered handle to an extent since larger fields draw higher wagering pools. The track averaged 7.4 runners per race on opening week compared with 8.59 runners per race for the three-day opening weekend of the 2014 meeting. The entire 2014 meeting averaged 8.35 runners per race.