Handle declines 19.4 percent at Churchill Downs September meet
?q=100)
Total handle and handle per race both declined by nearly 20 percent at the recently concluded Churchill Downs September meet, according to an analysis by Daily Racing Form.
Total handle and average race handle both declined by 19.4 percent, according to the analysis. In both meets, Churchill carded 135 races over 14 days. Total handle dropped from $93.15 million last year to $75.01 million this year, while average race handle dropped from $689,976 last year to $556,293 this year.
No turf races were conducted during the meet this year due to ongoing problems with a grass course that was completely overhauled in 2022. Turf races generally draw larger fields and attract higher handle than comparable dirt races.
Churchill also moved its final Saturday lineup from a daytime card last year to a night-time card this year. Handle for the night card, which competed in part with a revamped card at Santa Anita in California and was run during rainy weather conditions, was $5.83 million, down nearly $7 million from the $12.5 million the card handled last year.
A card earlier on Saturday at Aqueduct racetrack in New York that featured a handful of Breeders’ Cup prep races drew $13.5 million in wagering. Last year, the same card at Aqueduct was moved to Sunday due to weather conditions, limiting competition for Churchill’s card on the same day.
Despite the cancellation of turf racing, field size inched up during the Churchill meet, from an average of 8.15 horses per race to 8.27 horses per race, according to the analysis.
Total and average purses both declined 6.1 percent, according to the analysis. Total purses, including bonuses distributed to horses eligible for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, dropped from $14.9 million to $14.0 million, while the average purse dropped from $110,377 to $103,674.
Churchill put its single turf stakes, the $200,000 Jefferson Cup, on hiatus prior to the meet.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.