Del Mar handle is up after three weeks

DEL MAR, Calif. – Handle is up for the meeting at Del Mar, and ontrack attendance, though down slightly, continues to improve from week to week, according to figures released by the track following the conclusion of the first three weeks of racing on Sunday.

Average daily all-sources handle is at $11,712,260, up from last year’s $11,318,353 at this point in the meet. And ontrack, handle is up more than 10 percent compared to the first three weeks last year.

A likely reason for the increase in handle is that field size is up from last year, to 8.34 runners per race from 8.17.

Daily average attendance stands at 19,270, a dip of 4.1 percent from a year ago at this time, though that figure has been trending upward in weeks two and three following an opening week that saw attendance off 6.4 percent compared to last year.