Late rally staunches Fair Grounds handle decline
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After a disastrous start to its 2022-23 racing season, Fair Grounds rebounded during the meet’s final 10 weeks, though handle still declined significantly compared to the 2021-22 season.
Total handle on the 79-day meeting that concluded March 26 was $207,324,229. Total handle during last season’s 80-day meeting was $232,534,689 for a season-to-season drop of $25.2 million, or 10.8 percent. That’s not rosy, but in mid-January, total handle was down 26 percent.
Fair Grounds ran 689 races this meet that drew 5,038 starters this meet compared to 747 races with 5,809 starters during the 2021-22 season. Average starters per race fell from 7.78 to 7.31. Average handle per race, however, fell only 3.3 percent, from $311,291 to $300,905, and average handle per starter actually increased 2.7 percent, from $40,030 t0 $41,152.
Driving the year-to-year dynamic was the sorry state of Fair Grounds’s grass course, its major advantage over regional competitor Oaklawn Park, which offers higher purses but no grass racing. Bare spots and dead sections visible last October rendered the inside portion of the grass course unusable for the entire season. There was no grass racing at all until late December, a month into the meet, and when turf racing resumed opportunities were limited and fields restricted to eight to keep runners on the outside part of the course suitable for use.
The track finally moved the temporary rail from 34 feet to 28 feet during closing week, allowing 10 horses in turf races. But the season included a mere 58 grass races compared to 235 during the 2021-22 season. Turf races last season drew an average of 8.43 starters compared to 7.46 on dirt.
An official for Churchill Downs Inc., Fair Grounds’s owner, said before the season that a well used to irrigate the turf had become contaminated with salt water. The problem wasn’t noticed by track officials or the maintenance crew until much of the course had been ruined. But many horsemen found that explanation implausible, and even more were angry that CDI didn’t clarify the turf situation until the meet was about to start.
Ron Faucheux won 17 races during March, eight more than any other trainer, to capture the training title. Faucheux wound up with 42 winners, five more than Brad Cox and Bret Calhoun. Cox got his 37 wins from just 99 starters, a strike rate of over 37 percent.
Reylu Gutierrez won his first Fair Grounds riding title, booting home 64 winners, 11 more than runner-up James Graham. Corey Lanerie had 50 winners as did Jareth Loveberry, who missed the end of the meet with an injury.
L and G Racing Stable topped the owner standings with 20 winners, all trained by Fair Grounds newcomer Cesar Govea.
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