Fort Erie handle up a bit from '06

Fort Erie ended its live season on Tuesday with an increase in the average handle for the 84-day race meet.

On live racing, the average handle per day from all sources totaled $882,550, up 1.6opercent from last year, when the meet covered 101 days and the daily average was $868,970.

Purse distribution was down 18.2 percent from the previous year, going from $11,162,000 to $9,132,300.

Jockey Robert King Jr. won the riding title for the second straight year with 106 wins. Chad Beckon was next with 73.

Mark Fournier won 46 races to lead trainers, while Nick Gonzalez and Scott Fairlie had 34 and 26 wins, respectively.