Less races leads to decline in wager in June

Wagering on U.S. Thoroughbred races fell significantly in June compared to the same month last year, but the number of races fell at a slightly higher rate, according to figures released on Friday by Equibase.

Total wagering was down 7.18 percent to $956.8 million, a drop of $74 million from June of last year. But the number of races held at U.S. tracks in the month fell 7.58 percent, leading to an average handle per race of $322,602, just slightly higher than the average of $321,410 in June of last year.

This year, June had nine weekend dates, compared to 10 weekend dates in June last year. Handle is typically far higher on weekend dates than weekdays.
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The amount of purses distributed during June his year fell 6.0 percent, to $110.26 million. Average purse in June of this year was $37,200, compared to an average purse of $36,557 in June of last year.

Average field size in the month was 7.06 horses per race, a decline of 1.7 percent compared to the average of 7.18 in June of last year.

For the first six months of the year, handle has fallen 2.8 percent while the number of races held at U.S. track has declined 4.4 percent. Purses are down 3.5 percent.

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