Hollywood Park average all-sources handle falls 2 percent

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The 50-day spring-summer meeting at Betfair Hollywood Park concluded Sunday with a 2 percent decline in average all-sources handle compared to the 2011 meeting, track president Jack Liebau said.

The track did not reveal extensive handle and attendance figures for the meeting.

Last Thursday, Liebau said the track was down 3 percent in average all-sources handle from 2011, but a stronger-than-expected weekend narrowed that gap. For example, the all-sources handle on Saturday’s American Oaks program was $11,683,385, a gain of 12.9 percent over the $10,343,127 from the corresponding day in 2011.

“Friday was good and Saturday was good,” Liebau said. “We did better than we thought.”

The meeting had its share of problems. The track cut purses in June because of lower-than-expected handle in late April and May. Field size failed to keep pace with the 2011 spring-summer meeting, averaging 7.48 starters per race this year compared to 7.69 last year.

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert led all trainers with 35 wins, eight more than John Sadler. Baffert won eight stakes, including the $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup with Game On Dude, who was voted the horse of the meeting.

Rafael Bejarano dominated the jockey’s standings with 74 wins, 25 more than Joe Talamo. Bejarano had 13 stakes wins.

Harris Farms led all owners with seven wins. The partnership that owns Game On Dude led all owners in earnings, with $390,000.