Handle up sharply early in Santa Anita meet

ARCADIA, Calif. – Benefiting from ideal weather and strong field size, Santa Anita has shown an increase in all-sources handle at its winter-spring meeting, according to data provided by track executive Tim Ritvo.

Combined handle from ontrack, satellite, and account-wagering sources rose 14.6 percent, from $109.7 million at the start of the 2016-17 season to $125.8 million this year. The figures reflect the first 13 days of racing at both meetings.

This season, weather has been ideal, with no rain on race days. On Jan. 11, some races were transferred from turf to dirt because of rain earlier that week. The start of the 2016-17 season was plagued by wet conditions.

Ritvo, the chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, the track’s parent company, said cancellations on other racing circuits in recent weeks, notably Aqueduct in New York, have helped Santa Anita’s handle.

With favorable weather, average field size has soared, with 8.93 runners per race this year compared with 7.86 runners in the same time period of the 2016-17 season.

“It’s a combination of everything,” Ritvo said. “We had bad weather in the East. That goes both ways. If it’s horrible, no one goes to the track and it can hurt you. We’re fortunate that everything is going our way.”

Ritvo said the track’s new Ship and Stay program, which offers cash incentives for owners and trainers who bring horses into the state, has been a boost, providing 29 runners who had made 31 starts through Monday.

This year, Santa Anita has made significant changes to its betting menu, introducing a 50-cent pick five on the final five races and $1 rolling super high fives in races with seven or more starters. The track continues to offer a 50-cent early pick five and two 50-cent pick-four wagers each day.

The pick-five wagers have different takeout rates. The early pick five has had a rate of 14 percent for years at all Southern California tracks. Santa Anita at this meeting has become the first Southern California track to offer a late pick five, which has a conventional takeout rate of 23.68 percent, the same rate as the pick four and pick six.

The late pick five received a substantial boost when the bet had a carryover of $192,748 into Sunday, when bettors added $1,516,694 to the pool. The bet was hit on Sunday for $780.

For the meeting, the late pick five has handled $4,987,480, an average of $383,652 a day.

With the added bets, interest in the $2 pick six has suffered.

Pick-six pools have totaled $3.3 million this season, down from $3.9 million in the early weeks of the 2016-17 meeting. The bet has a single-ticket jackpot format and was hit for $466,919 on Monday. The winning ticket was purchased for $2,880 at the Hollywood Park offtrack simulcast location in Inglewood, Calif., according to track officials.

Ritvo said the pick-six format is under review and that the single-ticket jackpot format could be eliminated.

“I would consider it,” he said. “I’m doing an analysis on it.”

The drop in pick-six betting was expected.

“I knew I was going to move the $2 pick-six players into the 50-cent pick five because they can spread more,” he said.

In an effort to expand field sizes, the track is offering races for lower claiming prices on turf and has increased the number of runners allowed in turf races from eight to nine when the temporary rails are set 30 feet from the permanent position.

On Friday, there are two one-mile turf races for which the temporary rails are set at 30 feet – a $40,000 claimer for maidens in the fifth race and an $18,000 to $20,000 claimer in the ninth race. Both have fields of nine.

“We will be seeing cheaper races on the grass,” Ritvo said.

Ritvo said the larger fields for such races are a boost for handle.

“It will be a huge benefit for us,” he said.