California betting handle down in first four months of 2025
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Handle at all racetracks in California showed a 5 percent decline through April compared to the first four months of 2024, according to figures announced by the California Horse Racing Board last week.
All-sources handle, including ontrack, satellite, and account wagering sources, was more than $816.3 million compared to more than $863.3 million in 2024. Compared to the first four months of 2023, when all-sources handle was $932.9 million, the amount wagered has declined 12.5 percent over the past two years.
In April alone, handle was more than $197.2 million compared to $211.7 million in 2024, a decline of 7 percent. Handle in April of 2023 was more than $254.4 million.
Only three venues operated in California in the first four months this year: the daytime Thoroughbred meeting at Santa Anita, the evening Quarter Horse and lower-level Thoroughbred meeting at Los Alamitos, and a standardbred meeting at Cal-Expo. The Cal-Expo meeting ended on May 2 with no prospects for a resumption later this year after track management canceled a lease agreement with the group that operated the races.
In 2024, Golden Gate Fields ran a daytime Thoroughbred meeting in the early months of the year. Golden Gate Fields closed last June.
Handle figures for the rest of 2025 are unlikely to recover from the current decline. There are no Thoroughbred race meetings scheduled in Northern California. Pleasanton operated a Thoroughbred meeting last fall to replace Golden Gate Fields, but handle figures were well below expectations, leading to the cancellation of a proposed winter-spring meeting.
No fair meetings are scheduled. Fairs at Pleasanton, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Fresno have not requested race days from the board. A proposal for a late summer meeting at Ferndale in far Northern California was rejected by a vote of 4-3 by the racing board last Thursday.
Even with lower handle figures, Santa Anita has offered higher purses compared to the corresponding period last year. For the first time, a portion of revenue from simulcasting and account wagering from Northern California has been redirected to purses at Santa Anita, a policy that went into effect earlier this year.
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