Betting handle up year-over-year at Santa Anita
?q=100)
For the second time this year, average daily handle on Santa Anita’s races increased compared to a similar period a year ago.
At the 29-day spring meeting that ended on Sunday, handle on races run at Santa Anita increased 4.8 percent from more than $228.6 million in 2024 to more than $239.6 million this year, according to figures compiled by Daily Racing Form.
The track ran 284 races this year compared to 275 races at a 29-day meeting in 2024. Average daily handle on bets placed on Santa Anita’s races was $8.26 million this spring compared to $7.88 million in the spring of 2024.
At the winter-spring meeting from Dec. 26 through April 6, handle on Santa Anita’s races rose 6 percent compared to the 2023-2024 meeting.
This spring, fields averaged 7.38 runners per race compared to an average of 7.19 in the spring of 2024. The increase can be partially attributed to an influx of horses from stables previously based in Northern California.
No racing has been held in Northern California this year following the permanent closure of Golden Gate Fields last June. A replacement meeting at Pleasanton last fall failed to draw sufficient business to sustain the sport in that region, leading to the cancellation of a proposed winter-spring meeting earlier this year.
Purses fell slightly this year at Santa Anita, from more than $14.28 million in 2024 to more than $14.08 million this year. This year, the track eliminated six stakes worth $100,000 each run at the 2024 spring meeting.
Overnight purses were higher at the spring meeting that concluded on Sunday compared to the 2024 meeting.
The increase was derived through betting revenue from account wagering and simulcast locations throughout the state that was consolidated and directed to Southern California tracks and purse accounts. Previously, part of that money was devoted to Northern California racing.
On the track, jockey Antonio Fresu won his second riding title – and first at Santa Anita – at the spring meeting with 34 wins, four more than Juan Hernandez. Hernandez had finished first in the last seven meetings at Santa Anita, beginning with the winter-spring meeting of 2022-2023. Last fall, Fresu, 33, and Tiago Pereira tied for first at the Los Alamitos December meeting with six wins.
Phil D’Amato led all trainers at the Santa Anita spring meeting with 27 wins from 113 starters. John Sadler was second in the standings with 20 wins. Prior to this spring, D’Amato, 49, was most recently leading trainer at Santa Anita's 2024 spring meeting.
Santa Anita’s fall meeting begins on Sept. 26 and continues through Oct. 26. The Los Alamitos summer meeting begins on Friday and concludes July 6.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.