Per-race handle rises 164 percent in April

U.S. racetracks held only 746 races in April, a decline of 71 percent compared to the same month last year, while per-race handle at the few tracks allowed to operate in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic soared 164 percent in the month, according to statistics released Tuesday by Equibase.

The staggering differences between figures generated in April of this year and in the same month last year reflect the upheaval caused by the virus, which has led to massive disruptions throughout the United States since businesses began shutting down in mid-March. The figures released on April largely illustrate the impacts of that disruptions, by highlighting the flow of handle to the six racetracks that ran that month.

Total handle dropped 25.4 percent in April compared to April wagering last year, when two dozen tracks were operating, including industry heavyweight tracks in California, Kentucky, and New York, which did not race during the month. While the total number of April races dropped from 2,612 to 746 and purses followed suit, declining 79 percent, the average handle per-race jumped from $323,874 to $857,104, an unprecedented figure in unprecedented times.

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Due to the dearth of tracks running live and the willingness of horsemen to run in the few races available, the average field size in April jumped to 9.13 horses per race, up significantly from the average field size of 7.55 generated in April of last year. Racetracks running in April included Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs in Florida, Remington Park and Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma, Fonner Park in Nebraska, and Los Alamitos in California.

Year-to-date, total handle has declined 6.9 percent, according to the Equibase figures, while the number of races has declined 25.7 percent. Total purses have dropped 28.9 percent.