Turf Paradise handle up

Total handle on Turf Paradise races rose 4 percent during the track's 2004-2005 meet, even though the track raced seven fewer days than during the 2003-2004 meeting, according to figures released by the track.

Total handle on the live races for the 160-day Turf Paradise meet, which ran from Oct. 1, 2004 through Sunday, came to about $312 million, compared with about $300 million during the previous meeting, which ran for 167 days. The average daily handle for the meet was $1.95 million, up 8.3 percent from $1.8 million from the previous meet.

The meet had been scheduled to run for 167 days, but seven days were lost because of poor weather.

Wilson Dieguez, 31, won his first riding title with 127 victories. Apprentice Kyle Kaenel was second with 106 wins despite losing time to an injury suffered in a spill here in April. The father-son team of owner Bill Bainum, who races as Buddy Lee Racing Stable, and trainer Troy Bainum won the owner and trainer titles, with 46 and 68 wins, respectively. Eric Kruljac was second in the trainer standings with 66 wins.