Handle over winter falls at Turfway

Average daily handle at Turfway Park this winter was down 9 percent over corresponding dates from the previous winter, according to figures released Wednesday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. The Turfway winter-spring meet closed on Saturday.

Average all-sources handle for 54 dates was $1,406,202, down from the average for 66 dates of $1,544,170 in 2016-17. Both reports encompass the separate meets that Turfway traditionally conducts: the holiday meet from late November through Dec. 31, and the three-month winter-spring meet that begins Jan. 1.

Because of weather-related cancellations, gross handle was down 25.5 percent to $75,934,899 from $101,915,239 in 2016-17.

Handle on the track’s premier date, the March 17 Jeff Ruby Steaks Day, was $5,188,390, down 9 percent from the $5,694,912 on the 2017 date, when the race was known as the JACK Cincinnati Casino Spiral.

Turfway, located in Florence, Ky., reported to the commission in February that owner JACK Entertainment intends to invest $25 million in its facility while planning for the imminent installation of Instant Racing machines, which have boosted purses at state tracks Kentucky Downs, Ellis Park, and Keeneland.