California betting handle down slightly through August despite banner month at Del Mar
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All-sources handle at California tracks was down 4 percent this year through August compared to 2024, according to figures announced at the California Horse Racing Board meeting on Sept. 18.
Handle from ontrack, simulcast, and account wagering at all tracks exceeded $1.813 billion through Aug. 31, compared to more than $1.89 billion in 2024. Ontrack handle at all tracks was down 14.4 percent from $129.6 million in 2024 to $111.7 million this year. There are fewer venues operating this year with the cessation of racing in Northern California last December.
Handle from account wagering was the biggest contributor to the overall figure for the year, increasing 3 percent from $719.6 million in 2024 to $742.1 million this year.
The figures include handle from daytime Thoroughbred meetings, the nighttime Quarter Horse and lower-level Thoroughbred meeting at Los Alamitos, and harness racing in Sacramento in the early months of the year. Harness racing at Sacramento ended permanently in early May.
For the month of August, ontrack handle declined 2 percent from $26.8 million in 2024 to $26.4 million this year. In 2024, fair meetings were conducted at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa and the Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale in August. No racing was held at those venues this year. This year, only Del Mar and Los Alamitos operated in August.
Overall handle for the month declined 3 percent from $324.3 million in 2024 to $315.7 million this year. Del Mar alone had an increase of 8 percent in ontrack handle in August from more than $23.5 million in 2024 to more than $25.4 million this year, according to the racing board.
Aside from Del Mar and Los Alamitos, the only other track operating in the state is Santa Anita, which begins its autumn meeting on Friday.
There are no longer harness racing meetings in Sacramento, and there is no racing on the Northern California fair circuit or at Golden Gate Fields, which closed permanently in June 2024.
Northern California promoters attempted to restart racing on the fair circuit earlier this year but had proposals rejected by the racing board at three consecutive meetings from April to June. Some racing board officials said at the time they voted against racing in Northern California to protect prize money levels at Southern California tracks.
Alan Aldrich, a longtime horse owner, told the racing board on Sept. 18 that a group of horsemen will ask the regulatory agency for racing dates in Northern California in 2026.
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