California purses to rise following recent three-prong agreement

Purses at California tracks will rise through next year as part of a recent agreement finalized by the racetracks, the Thoroughbred Owners of California, and the account-wagering firm TVG.

In an announcement Wednesday, the organizations said purses will grow by as much as $15 million in 2021 and 2022. The benefits are already being felt with a 10 percent increase in overnight purses at the current Santa Anita meeting, which began Dec. 26.

Del Mar officials said Wednesday that they plan to meet this week for preliminary discussions on how to allocate additional money for the track’s summer and fall meetings.

“We’re going to be very wise in how we distribute it,” said Tom Robbins, the track’s vice president in charge of racing. “We’re seriously reviewing everything on concepts and thought that we have. It’s good news for California.”

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Del Mar president Josh Rubinstein said the track plans to have a daily purse distribution of more than $600,000 this year, an increase from $567,000 in 2020.

The 15-day autumn meeting at Del Mar in November had all-sources total handle of $195.9 million, a 33 percent increase compared to a 13-day autumn meeting in 2019. The track raised overnight purses by 10 percent compared to 2019.

Prior to its summer meeting in 2020, Del Mar reduced overnight purses by 20 percent and slashed purses for several stakes. Business at the start of the meeting was better than expected, leading to a restoration of half of the reduction in overnight purses.

Santa Anita general manger Nate Newby said the track’s current meeting has shown gains of approximately 10 percent compared to corresponding days at the 2019-20 meeting.

In the statement Wednesday, the groups said they plan to develop sponsorships and enhance purses at a time when nearly all wagering has migrated to account-wagering firms during the pandemic.

Santa Anita and Del Mar have allowed a small number of owners to attend on days in which they have horses racing, leading to ontrack handle figures typically ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 a day, a fraction of pre-pandemic figures.

The general public has not been allowed to attend racing since mid-March. Simulcast locations at sports bars, card clubs, and other racetracks have been largely closed.