DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar completed its 31-day summer meeting with a decline in handle compared to the corresponding meeting in 2023. According to figures compiled by Daily Racing Form, total commingled handle on the Del Mar races was $360,944,231, a decline of 7.8 percent from a handle of $391,819,361 at a 30-day meeting last year. The 2022 summer meeting had handle of $439,674,337 on Del Mar’s races. On Sunday evening, the track announced an all-sources handle of $502,985,000 for the summer, a figure that includes simulcast wagering throughout the nation on racing days as well as simulcast revenue generated on days the track did not operate. By comparison, the 2023 meeting had an all-sources handle of $527.6 million, according to figures published in its annual media guide. Prior to the start of the 2024 summer meeting on July 20, track executives had projected a decline in handle because of a change in the racing schedule and a new structure to the pick six. On Sunday, track chief executive officer Joe Harper said controls on computer-assisted wagers also affected handle. Such bettors, leading contributors to handle, were restricted from making win bets within two minutes of post time to avoid massive changes in final odds that have repeatedly drawn the ire of rank-and-file bettors, Harper said. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  “It was a solid meet,” Harper said in a Sunday evening visit in the press box. “We were down where we knew we’d be down.” The track began the meeting with a slight overpayment of its purse pool. The track reduced overnight purses by 8 percent from 2023 summer levels. Purses for stakes were cut by $400,000, from $8.275 million in 2023 to $7.875 million this summer. Tracks throughout California, which do not receive revenue from alternative sources of gaming such as slot machines or casinos, have reduced purses in the last year because of declines in handle. This year, the Del Mar summer season opened on a Saturday instead of a Friday, as was the case from 2000-23, to allow a greater gap following the closure of the San Diego County Fair on track property on July 7. The transformation from a county fair to a race meeting involves widespread changes to the property and the track maintenance crew needs sufficient time to prepare the racing surface. By delaying the start of the meeting, the track lost a Friday opening day that handled more than $21.7 million in 2023. Del Mar added a Thursday program last week that was not part of the 2023 schedule. Handle last Thursday was more than $6.6 million, according to figures released to the media. This summer, Del Mar reverted to a $1 pick six with a payout to tickets with six winners, or a carryover if there were not six winners, as well as a daily consolation payout. The same format was offered at the 2023 fall meeting. From the fall of 2016 through last summer, the track offered a 20-cent jackpot pick six. That format produced race days with massive handle on days with mandatory payouts, but was unpopular with some bettors because of a structure that devoted a portion of the net pool to a single-ticket winner, or into a carryover until a single-ticket winner occurred. On closing day of the 2023 summer meeting, a day with a mandatory payout, the jackpot pick six pool exceeded $2.31 million. The pool for the $1 pick six on Sunday’s closing day was $420,156. This summer, fields averaged 8.56 runners per race, the third-highest in the last five years, but lower than the 9.14 runners at the 2022 meeting and 8.92 last summer. Jockey Juan Hernandez led all riders with 47 wins, including eight stakes, recording his third consecutive summer title. Hall of Famer Bob Baffert led trainers with 23 wins, the ninth time he has led or tied for the lead at a summer meeting. Del Mar will run a five-week autumn meeting from Oct. 31 to Dec. 1 that includes the Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 1-2. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.