Del Mar handle on pace to top $500M for first time in 13 years
DEL MAR, Calif. – All-sources handle at the Del Mar summer meeting could reach $500 million for the first time in 13 years and will be well above figures from the last two summers, track chief financial officer Mike Ernst said Sunday.
The track’s summer meeting had an all-sources handle of $431.9 million in 2019 and $467.6 million in 2020, compared to $485.1 million in 2018.
“I think we’re tracking to beat 2018,” Ernst said.
Ernst said $500 million “is within range.” The meeting concludes on Sept. 6.
The all-time record of $608.9 million was set during a 43-day season in 2005. In 2008, all-sources handle was $559.2 million, the last time handled surpassed $500 million.
This year’s meeting will be 31 racing days compared to 36 in 2018 and 2019, and 27 during a 2020 meeting affected by the pandemic.
Through Saturday, the ninth day of the season, all-sources handle was $186.8 million, a figure that includes simulcasting through a nine-day period before the meeting began on July 16. The figure is higher than comparable periods in 2019 and 2020, Ernst said.
“Wagering is very strong,” Ernst said. “We’re up 21 percent ahead of projections.”
Ernst said Del Mar officials finalized projections for the summer meeting in April, shortly after the state of California began relaxing strict business regulations during the pandemic. State government allowed for broader openings as of June 15, including full capacity at sports stadiums.
Del Mar limited its audience to customers with seat reservations for the opening weekend of the meeting from July 16-18, but increased attendance to allow some general admission beginning on July 23.
“We thought with the reopening of satellites and ontrack customers we’d come back to 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels and we’re at 90 percent pre-pandemic,” Ernst said of handle.
Ernst said account-wagering handle has been “better than what we expected.”
Growth in account wagering in California in 2020 led to an increase of purses at Santa Anita earlier this year and at the current Del Mar meeting. The tracks were not able to offer admission to the general public in the second half of 2020, forcing customers to bet through account wagering formats.
Santa Anita began hosting a limited general audience in early April. Ernst said the last year has made projections more difficult.
“After what we went through last year, we didn’t know what to expect,” Ernst said.
Friday, Del Mar added $300,000 to stakes purses because of stronger-than-expected business. The purse for the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 21 was increased from $750,000 to $1 million, while the purse of the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 4 was hiked from $200,000 to $250,000.
The increased purses are the same as the 2019 runnings. Last year, the Pacific Classic was worth $500,000 and the Del Mar Derby was worth $200,000 in a season in which prize money for many stakes purses was cut because of the pandemic.
Average field sizes has increased in the first weeks of the season to 8.77 runners per race compared to 8.43 during a similar period in the summer of 2020.