Santa Anita hiatus fuels 3.5 percent decrease in first-quarter U.S. handle

Handle on U.S. races during the first quarter of 2019 fell 3.5 percent, in part due to a 2.83 percent decline in March, when Santa Anita Park in Southern California canceled nearly three weeks of racing due to concerns over a spate of fatalities at the track, according to figures released on Friday by Equibase.

The quarterly decline, from $2.63 billion last year to $2.53 billion, is a reversal of recent gains in horse-racing handle largely due to favorable tax law changes that went into effect in the fall of 2017. March handle on U.S. races declined 2.83 percent, according to Equibase, when Santa Anita ran 12 fewer race dates than in March 2018.

U.S. races held during the quarter were statistically even with last year’s first quarter, so average per-race handle declined at nearly the same rate as the overall decline in handle, at 3.4 percent. Average per-race handle during the quarter dropped from $359,910 to $347,768.

Santa Anita is one of the highest-handling racetracks in the U.S. during March, second only to Gulfstream Park over the past few years, so the loss of most of Santa Anita’s racing dates in the month could have had a far more damaging impact on handle during March than the figures showed.

According to an analysis of Equibase handle figures for March, the loss at Santa Anita turned into strong gains for many other tracks, as handle migrated to tracks scattered across the U.S.

:: Shop for PPs, picks, DRF+ and more in our store!

Most notably, gross handle at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California – which is also owned by Santa Anita’s parent company, The Stronach Group – was up 43.6 percent in the month, with 15 more races run during the month than in March 2018, according to the analysis. Gross handle at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas in March was up 14.2 percent on only three additional races run, while handle at Aqueduct in New York was up 14.6 percent on 15 more races run. Gross handle at Fair Grounds in New Orleans was up 10.2 percent on 27 fewer races run, making average per-race handle at the track up 27.0 percent.

Purses at U.S. tracks, which are heavily subsidized by casino operations, were up during the quarter by 0.77 percent, according to Equibase, despite the loss of race dates at Santa Anita. Average field size declined 1.6 percent to 7.80 horses.

Purses distributed during March fell 2.7 percent, according to Equibase, reflecting the lost Santa Anita dates. Races held in March were down 2.3 percent.