COVID-19 halts handle momentum on U.S horse races

While total handle on U.S. races took a big hit in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic, updated economic indicators released Tuesday be Equibase show year-to-date wagering down a more modest 6.9% despite a 25.7% drop in the number of races.

This year, a total of $3,148,569,565 was wagered on 7,362 U.S. races through April 30. In 2019, $3,380,927,018 was wagered on 9,902 races during the same time period.

Notably, with a 24% drop in the number of race days from a year ago, average wagering per race card jumped 22.5% to $3,586,070.

Total wagering on U.S. races would assuredly be up for the year if not for a steep drop in April. Last month, with 71.4% fewer races due to numerous track closures from COVID-19, total wagering fell 24.4% to $639,399,396. However, average handle per race card in April skyrocketed by 176.5% from a year ago to $7,522,346.

Average field size through April was 7.98 for U.S. races, up from 7.73 in 2019. Last month, with limited options for horsemen, average field size jumped to 9.13 as compared to 7.55 in April 2019.

Average purses per race day through April was down 6.4% from 2019 to $253,670. $3,148,569,565.

A full look at 2020's numbers for U.S. races via Equibase: