Attendance, handle decline through first nine days

DEL MAR, Calif. – Attendance and handle declined in the first nine days of the Del Mar meeting, according to data released by the track Wednesday.

Through Sunday, average ontrack handle was down 18.6 percent to $2,151,339, while all-sources handle, including simulcasting and account-wagering sources, was down 5.7 percent to $12,536,249. Average attendance was down 12.5 percent to 17,580. The meeting opened July 16.

Track president Joe Harper said the track has suffered through a strange first two weeks, including rare July rainstorms that plagued the first weekend, July 18-19. Because of the weather, the decline has not been a surprise after a successful start to the 2014 meeting, he said.

“We’ve had some decent reasons,” Harper said. “Last year, in the first week of the meeting, we were soaring.”

The 2014 meeting had a downturn in business after the first few weeks when a rash of injuries to horses led to negative publicity. Harper said there could be aftereffects from those incidents.

“I think there is a little hangover from last year,” he said.

Harper said the presence of a November meeting may be diluting demand to attend the races in the summer. The track began running a November meeting last year, replacing race dates previously held at Hollywood Park.