Handle, attendance down through first four weeks
DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar is showing declines in both on- and off-track handle, and attendance is slightly down through the first four weeks of the season.
Total handle is averaging $12,040,282, a decline of 7.6 percent from comparable dates in 2013. On-track handle is averaging $2,224,041 per day, a decline of 11.7 percent. Handle from out of state, including advance-deposit wagering based outside California, is off 9.8 percent from last year.
Attendance is off just 2.1 percent for a still-healthy average of 18,035 on-track fans per day.
Del Mar opened this year on a Thursday, as opposed to the traditional Wednesday. The track has run 19 days so far, whereas it had run 20 days to this point last year.
To come up with comparative figures, Del Mar dropped the first Thursday of the 2013 meeting so as to include opening day for both years. Opening day usually provides the biggest crowd of the season.