Monmouth betting handle, field size down; attendance up
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Total handle at the recently concluded Monmouth Park meet in Oceanport, N.J., fell 16.1 percent as the track struggled to fill races during a crowded summer calendar, according to an analysis conducted by Daily Racing Form.
Total handle dropped $44.2 million, from $212.7 million during a 50-day meet last year to $178.5 million during a 49-day meet this year, according to the analysis. Despite racing only one less day, Monmouth carded 34 less races this year and average handle per race dropped 9.8 percent.
Despite tightening the number of racing opportunities, the average field size at Monmouth dropped nearly half a horse, falling from 7.52 horses per race last year to 7.04 horses per race this year. Two years ago, when Monmouth ran a 51-day meet, field size was 7.71 horses per race.
A number of tracks on the Eastern seaboard struggled to fill races during the summer this year, in an area where the number of race dates has remained static despite the migration of many horses to Kentucky, persistent declines in the available horse population, and tightening pre-race veterinary standards. Most of the tracks receive rich subsidies from casinos.
Total purse distribution dropped 7.8 percent, from $23.1 million last year to $21.3 million this year. But because of the decline in number of races, the average purse was down slightly less than 1 percent to $46,885.
Still, Monmouth set an attendance record for a Mother’s Day card, when 14,687 were on-track on May 11. On Haskell Day, July 19, the attendance of 41,876 was the largest since 2015, and the track’s $22 million handle that day was a record. It was the third straight year that Monmouth set a handle record for the Haskell card.
According to the track, average attendance was up slightly, from 6,510 last year to 6,650 this year.
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