TurfPublicists: GOOD WEATHER, FULL FIELDS ASSIST NYRA PROJECTIONS FOR FIRST 10 DAYS AT SARATOGA

Monday, August 2, 2010

Contact: Dan Silver

GOOD WEATHER, FULL FIELDS ASSIST NYRA PROJECTIONS FOR FIRST 10 DAYS AT SARATOGA

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Attendance and handle which dipped over the first full week and the first ten days of the 2010 Saratoga Race Course meet compared to 2009 are consistent with preliminary projections, according to statistics released today by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA).

· Attendance for the first full week of the meet (Days 5 through 10) was 126,405, down 11.3 percent from 142,519 for the first week (six days) of the 2009 meet, with a daily average of 21,068 compared to 23,753. (*See note on attendance below.)

· On-track handle for the week totaled $16,448,744, down 15.0 percent from $19,352,137 for 2009’s first week, with a daily average of $2,741,457 compared to $3,225,356.

· All-sources handle (which combines wagers on Saratoga races both on-track and from simulcast outlets nationwide) for the week was $80,523,131, down 8.0 percent from $87,526,637 in 2009, with a daily average of $13,420,522 compared to $14,587,773.

Daily average attendance for the first 10 days of the meet is 19,886, average on-track handle is $2,653,161 and average all-sources handle is $13,186,088.

“The racing has been very exciting and competitive to date and we’ve already seen some sparkling two-year-old and stakes performances,” said NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward. “These initial attendance and handle comparisons are skewed by various factors including the earlier July start, a rainy opening day, and last year’s huge first Saturday which was one of the largest crowds ever for a non-Travers/non-giveaway day. But now it’s August with full fields and a favorable forecast pointing to a big week as we head into Whitney Day Saturday.”

Average betting interests per race for the first ten days were 8.65 compared to 8.90 for the first six days in 2009. Turf races totaled 40 with nine taken off the turf and no off-the-turf races over the past week.

* Note: Attendance figures for Giveaway Days include patrons who pay multiple admissions to obtain more than one giveaway item, either at the track entrance or at the multiple admissions area inside the track. There has been one Giveaway Day through Day 10 of the 2010 meet, and there was one through Day 6 in 2009.

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