Despite Santa Anita cancellations, nationwide handle drop slight

Nationwide handle on Thoroughbred races dropped 2.65% in March compared to the same month in 2018, but it’s only a slight overall dip despite Santa Anita Park’s $85 million decrease in wagering due to cancellations related to track safety issues. One of America's top circuits, Santa Anita ran just 55 races in March 2019 compared to 162 the prior year, but nationwide handle only fell from $961.3 million to $935.9 million. The largest track in terms of handle was Gulfstream Park with $275.4 million, or 29.4% of the overall total. That number was up slightly from $271.8 million in 2018. With fewer races at Santa Anita, all other tracks in the Top 5 were up: Aqueduct ($96.2 million vs. $84 million); Tampa Bay Downs ($94.2 million vs. $87.1 million); Oaklawn Park ($85.5 million vs. $74.9 million); and Fair Grounds ($63.4 million vs. $57.5 million). March 2019 Handle (Top 10 tracks)

In terms of field size, Oaklawn Park led the way with 9.1 horses per race. Following were Delta Downs (9), Tampa Bay Downs (8.3), Fair Grounds (8.2) and Parx (8). Overall field size was 7.6 horses per race compared to 7.8 horses per race in March 2018.

Total races run in March were down slightly, dropping from 2,732 races a year ago to 2,670 this year. The net result was a decrease to 20,371 total runners compared to 21,280 last year.