Belmont Park fall meet business declines

Due in part to wet weather, Belmont Park’s fall meet suffered near-double-digit declines in total and ontrack handle compared with a year ago.

All-sources handle for the 38-day meet was $294,710,551, a 9.8 percent decrease from last year’s total of $326,878,686 for 37 cards. Ontrack handle for this year’s meet was $42,697,719, a 9.6 percent decline from last year’s figure of $47,238,016.

Attendance at this year’s meet was 102,566, an 18.9 percent decrease from last year’s figure of 126,469. Small crowds this fall prompted the New York Racing Association to close the third and fourth floors of Belmont for weekday programs in October.

Belmont conducted 365 races at this year’s fall meet, compared with 361 last fall. Inclement weather forced 47 scheduled turf races to be moved to the main track this year, compared with only seven last year. All totaled, Belmont conducted 152 turf races this fall, compared with 191 last year.

Average field size at this fall’s meet was 8.0 (2,927 starters for 365 races), compared with 8.4 (3,016 for 361 races) last fall.

NYRA emphasized big-event days this year but suffered declines on its three biggest days of the fall meet. Total handle on Jockey Club Gold Cup Day was $19.9 million, down from $22.1 million a year ago. The crowd for the following Saturday – a card featuring the Champagne and Frizette – was decimated by rain, and the track handled just $10.7 million, compared with $15.2 million a year ago. Finally, the New York Showcase Day program handled $12.9 million, down from $13.4 million last year.