U.S. handle falls nearly 4% in 2023, biggest drop in 12 years
The amount of money bet on U.S. races fell nearly 4 percent in 2023, the biggest such drop in handle in 12 years.
Equibase reported Friday that more than $11.6 billion were bet on 31,746 races in the year that just ended, down 3.7 percent from the $12.1 billion wagered on 33,452 races in 2022. Because of the 5.5 percent drop in the number of races, the average handle for each card actually went up nearly 2 percent to $3,005,575.
According to The Jockey Club, which owns Equibase, the last time there was such a big drop in U.S. handle was in 2011, when there was a loss of 5.7 percent from the year before. That was the end of an eight-year period when other forms of legal gambling mushroomed, and the money wagered on racing plunged 29 percent from its all-time high of nearly $15.2 billion in 2003.
Handle for U.S. races has fallen four of the last five years with the lone exception being 2021, when there was a nearly 12 percent rebound coming out of the height of the COVID pandemic when racing was not as restricted as other sports.
Purses were flat. They totaled more than $1.2 billion last year, down 0.7 percent from 2022.
The number of starts fell 3 percent, but partly because of the drop in total races, there was a nearly 2 percent rise in field sizes from 7.3 to 7.4.
The Equibase report also said the fall quarter had a 1.7 percent drop in handle from the same three months in 2022. December had a rally with a 6.6 percent rise over the final month the year before in spite of a 10 percent dip in the number of race days.
| Racing economic indicators | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 2023 vs. year 2022 | |||
| Indicator | 2023 | 2022 | % Change |
| Wagering on U.S. races* | $11,658,624,859 | $12,106,384,221 | –3.7% |
| U.S. purses available | $1,305,772,102 | $1,309,888,791 | –0.3% |
| U.S. purses paid | $1,249,480,246 | $1,258,822,899 | –0.7% |
| U.S. race days | 3,879 | 4,104 | –5.5% |
| U.S. races | 31,746 | 33,452 | –5.1% |
| U.S. starts | 235,965 | 244,124 | –3.3% |
| Average field | 7.4 | 7.3 | +1.9% |
| Avg. wagering per race day | $3,005,575 | $2,949,899 | +1.9% |
| Avg. available purses per race day | $336,626 | $306,731 | +1.1% |
| 4th quarter 2023 vs. 2022 | |||
| Indicator | 4th qtr. 2023 | 4th qtr. 2022 | Change |
| Wagering on U.S. races* | $2,527,067,754 | $2,569,728,504 | –1.7% |
| U.S. purses available | $316,524,729 | $327,852,201 | –3.5% |
| U.S. purses paid | $301,385,110 | $313,600,739 | –3.9% |
| U.S. race days | 811 | 881 | –8.0% |
| U.S. races | 6,883 | 7,442 | –7.5% |
| U.S. starts | 54,362 | 57,174 | –4.9% |
| Average field | 7.9 | 7.7 | +2.8% |
| Avg. wagering per race day | $3,115,990 | $2,916,831 | +6.8% |
| Avg. available purses per race day | $390,289 | $355,960 | +9.6% |
| Dec. 2023 vs. Dec. 2022 | |||
| Indicator | Dec. 2023 | Dec. 2022 | Change |
| Wagering on U.S. races* | $797,353,950 | $747,820,344 | +6.6% |
| U.S. purses available | $84,799,014 | $83,094,292 | +2.1% |
| U.S. purses paid | $80,664,373 | $79,479,673 | +1.5% |
| U.S. race days | 231 | 256 | –9.8% |
| U.S. races | 2,005 | 2,200 | –8.9% |
| U.S. starts | 16,406 | 17,285 | –5.1% |
| Average field | 8.2 | 7.9 | +4.2% |
| Avg. wagering per race day | $3,451,749 | $2,921,173 | +18.2% |
| Avg. available purses per race day | $367,095 | $310,467 | +18.2% |
| *Includes worldwide commingled. | |||
| Source: Equibase |