Charles Town handle down slightly for 2013

Average daily handle at Charles Town Races in West Virginia was down 1 percent in 2013 for 219 race cards, compared to 227 race cards held in 2012, according to figures released by the track.

The slight drop was the first annual decline for Charles Town in three years. In 2011 and 2012, the track set records for average daily handle, and topped $1 million for the figure for the first time last year.

Ontrack average daily handle was down 8.4 percent during the year, to $49,479, according to the figures, while offtrack handle – which provides the vast bulk of the track’s wagering – was down 0.6 percent, to $942,889.

In a release, Charles Town officials said wagering totals were aided by record-setting handle figures for the track’s “three event days,” when Charles Town in April ran the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic, drawing Game On Dude; the Race for the Ribbon card in September; and West Virginia Breeders’ Classics Day in October.

On April 20, the day of the Charles Town Classic, handle was $4.4 million, the highest wagering total for a single card in Charles Town history.