Average handle per race and purse per race down slightly at fall meet

Average handle per race and purse per race fell by single digits during the expanded Churchill Downs fall meet that concluded on Sunday, according to an analysis by Daily Racing Form.

The average handle for the 265 races held during the meet was down 3.1 percent compared to the same figure for 231 races during the fall meet last year. Last year’s fall meet had 21 live racing days, while this year’s fall meet had 26 live race days, starting on Oct. 27 and ending on Dec. 1.

Total handle for the 26-day meet was up 20.7 percent, according to the analysis, from $142.4 million last year to $171.9 million this year.

While total purses for the expanded meet were up 18.2 percent, to $26.6 million, the average purse per race dipped 5 percent, to just over $100,000. Purses at Churchill Downs and other Kentucky tracks are heavily subsidized by revenues from gambling devices at racetracks and other locations.

The figures for average handle and average purse also declined at Churchill’s brief September meet. Earlier in the year, handle and purses set records at Churchill’s spring/summer meet.

Churchill utilized its turf course for the entire fall meet for the first time since a new course was installed at the track in 2022. Average field size at the fall meet increased from 8.17 horses per race last year to 8.47 horses per race this year.

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