Which racetracks had the biggest drop in handle in 2020?

The pandemic created havoc with the 2020 racing calendar all year long.  Significant portions of track schedules were trimmed, delayed or canceled altogether, and major events were pushed back and shoe-horned into different times of the year. 

As HRN reported Sunday, although nationwide 2020 handle was down only 1.3 percent, the number of races fell 23.2 percent, down 8,300 from 2019. 

Tracks with biggest loss of races

The decline of races was not spread equally, with some tracks losing many more than others. Here are the 30 tracks with the largest decline in percentage of races in 2020 as compared with 2019:  

Turf Paradise had the largest decline in number of races, a 63 percent drop from 2019. The Arizona track lost dates not only because of COVID but also because of a dispute between the track and horsemen that ended the meet prematurely. Finger Lakes and Arlington Park summer meets were significantly delayed, losing 61 percent and 59 percent of races, respectively. Colonial Downs saw its meet ended just a few days into the meet, causing a 57 percent drop in races from 2019.

On Monday, we looked at the tracks with the largest handle increases in 2020. Now let's look at the tracks with the largest handle decreases. 

Biggest handle declines in 2020

Santa Anita had the biggest drop, losing 35 percent of its previous handle for a fall of $324.5 million. A 24 percent decline in races was the biggest factor, brought on largely by a seven-week COVID suspension. But handle still underperformed and contributed to the huge decline.

The next two tracks in terms of handle declines were NYRA tracks Aqueduct and Belmont Park. However, both tracks outperformed their decline in races. Aqueduct was down 29 percent in races but only 25 percent in handle. Belmont was down 33 percent in races but 18 percent in handle.