TurfPublicists: SARATOGA BUSINESS PICKS UP DESPITE WEEK'S SOGGY FINISH

Monday, August 23, 2010

Contact: Dan Silver

SARATOGA BUSINESS PICKS UP DESPITE WEEK’S SOGGY FINISH

Spa Averages Far Surpass Monmouth and Del Mar

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Total wagering remains on a par with 2009 while attendance and on-track handle inched upward despite two rainy days to close out the fourth full week of racing at Saratoga, according to figures released today by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA).

All-sources handle for the first four full weeks of the meet is down 3.5 percent but that decline is largely due to seven fewer races run than in 2009 (232 vs. 239).

Saratoga attendance and handle also continue to broadly outperform Monmouth Park and Del Mar Race Track, NYRA’s most important competitors in the highly lucrative summer market.

“All-sources handle is the predominant financial measure for NYRA and for our horsemen and breeders since total wagering ultimately determines purse size,” said NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward. “We are exceeding our projections through four weeks, outpacing our main competitors, and we’re encouraged by a promising forecast for this weekend’s Double Day Spectacular with a full Travers field on Saturday and Rachel Alexandra’s return on Sunday.”

· Attendance for the first four full weeks of the meet (24 days, Days 5 through 28) was 537,491, down 8.6 percent from 588,173 for the first 24 days of the 2009 meet, with a daily average of 22,395 compared to 24,507. (*See note on attendance below.)

· On-track handle for the four weeks totaled $67,779,646, down 8.8 percent from $74,299,070 for 2009’s first four weeks, with a daily average of $2,824,152 compared to $3,095,795.

· All-sources handle (which combines wagers on Saratoga races both on-track and from simulcast outlets nationwide) for the four weeks was $314,841,190, down 3.5 percent from $326,169,776 in 2009, with a daily average of $13,118,383 compared to $13,590,407.

Daily averages for the first 28 days of the meet are:

· Average attendance is 21,784, which is 103 percent higher than Monmouth and 12 percent higher than Del Mar;

· Average on-track handle is $2,780,804, which is 255 percent higher than Monmouth and 29 percent higher than Del Mar;

· Average all-sources handle is $13,077,819, which is 62 percent higher than Monmouth and 13 percent higher than Del Mar.

Average betting interests per race for the meet were 8.38 compared to 8.41 in 2009 with 119 turf races and 23 taken off the turf.

* 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 have been three Giveaway Days in 2010 and three through the first four weeks of the 2009 meet.

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