Handle figures jump in August compared to last year

Total handle on Thoroughbred races at U.S. tracks jumped 3.1 percent in August compared to the same month last year despite a slight drop in the number of races held, according to figures released by Equibase on Friday.

The total handle figure, $1.204 billion, was aided by the number of weekend dates in August of this year. There were ten weekend dates in August, compared to nine weekend dates in the same month last year. Handle is generally far higher on weekends than weekdays.

The average handle per race jumped 4.8 percent, from $361,353 in August of last year to $378,632. The number of races held in the month dropped 1.58 percent, from 3,232 in August last year to 3,181.

The total amount of purses distributed in August was up 6.3 percent, to $145.3 million. The average purse per race in August was $45,664, up 8.0 percent over the average purse in August of last year. Purses are also generally higher on weekend dates, and this year, purses at Ellis Park in Kentucky were approximately 25 percent higher than last year.

Average field size continued its recent slide, though by a statistically insignificant amount, down from 7.21 horses per race in August of last year to 7.19 this August.

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