Colonial Downs handle up sharply from last year

Total wagering and average daily wagering during the 26-meet at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., was up double digits when compared to last year, according to the track.

Average daily wagering was $2.88 million, a 29.2 percent gain over the average handle for a 21-day meet last year. With five more days of racing, total wagering this year was $74.94 million, the track said, up 59.9 percent compared to $46.87 million during last year’s meet. Both figures were records.

Purses at this year’s meet averaged $621,000 per day, the track said, up 19 percent. Purses at Colonial are heavily subsidized by revenues generated from historical horse-racing machines at the track and the track’s off-track betting parlors.

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Field size during the meet was an average of 8.35 horses per race. Colonial runs the vast majority of its races on turf.

The average handle figures were boosted by the track’s two final cards. On Sept. 6, a Tuesday, handle was a record $6.51 million for Virginia Derby Day. On the final day of the meet, Sept. 7, handle was $6.08 million.

This year’s meet was the fourth since Colonial reopened in 2019, though the 2020 meet was cut short after a rash of COVID-19 positives among the track’s jockey colony.

Earlier this year, Churchill Downs Inc. reached an agreement to purchase nearly all of the assets of Colonial Down's parent company, including the track and its off-track betting parlors, and the 2023 meet will be run under Churchill's management. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year.

Churchill officials said earlier this year that they intend to run as many as 50 live racing days at the track each year because of a law that requires Colonial to hold one live racing day for every 100 historical horse-racing machines in operation at the track’s properties. Churchill has said it plans to operate 5,000 machines at the track and its 12 available off-track betting operations.