Weather cancellations lead to winter wagering decline at Oaklawn

Weekend racing cancellations during Oaklawn Park’s recently concluded meet led to significant declines in total handle and average wagering per race, according to an analysis conducted by Daily Racing Form. However, the track’s purse distribution was largely unaffected and its average field size remained robust.

Oaklawn’s total handle for the 62-day meet dropped 7.17 percent to $418.13 million, according to the analysis, while average handle per race dropped 5.67 percent to $673,310. But Oaklawn lost an entire weekend in early January, half a Saturday card and another whole Saturday card in February, and then another entire Saturday card in early April to inclement weather, significantly impacting betting figures.

Despite the lack of a turf course, Oaklawn has become the preeminent winter track over the past several years due to rich subsidies from an onsite casino and responsive management. With the loss of the Saturdays, total purses this year dropped 2.97 percent, while average purse dropped 1.41 percent to $90,188 – still easily the best in the nation for an extended winter meet.

“Even after losing four Saturdays to weather, we ended up just 10 races shy of last year,” said Wayne Smith, the general manager of the track. “That kind of resilience shows the passion of our horsemen, the dedication of our team, and the unwavering support of our fans. It really was something special.”

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Oaklawn ran 64 live racing days in 2024, which also had several cancellations. Total handle was $450.42 million, while total purses were $57.72 million for an average of $91,479.

Field size this year averaged 9.29 horses per race, well above the national average of around 7.9 horses per race during the meet’s timeframe. Oaklawn's average was down slightly compared to last year’s average field size of 9.34 horses per race.

On the track, Steve Asmussen earned his record 14th trainer’s title, with 46 wins and purses earnings of $5.50 million. Asmussen also shared the owner’s title with End Zone Athletics, each with 14 wins.

Francisco Arrieta led all riders with 65 wins and earnings of $5.08 million. Arrieta previously tied for the rider’s title during the 2021-2022 meet.

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