Thursday, April 28, 2011
Contact:
ATTENDANCE, ON-TRACK HANDLE, ACCOUNT WAGERING SKYROCKET AT 2011 AQUEDUCT MEET
For the period spanning January 1 through April 23 compared to last year’s corresponding time span, attendance was up 48 percent, increasing to 322,165 from 218,078, total on-track handle (including money bet on simulcast races) was up 74.6 percent, increasing to $144 million from $83 million, NYRA Rewards telephone wagering was up 95 percent, increasing to $13 million from $6.7 million, and NYRA Rewards internet wagering was up 147 percent, increasing to $20 million from $8.2 million.
“We are extremely pleased with the numbers from the recently concluded Aqueduct meeting,” said NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward. “I am very encouraged by the hard work that everyone at NYRA has done since the shutdown of New York City Off-Track Betting to encourage customers to attend our live races and wager on our product. It has been a total team effort and has demonstrated NYRA’s ability to react quickly and decisively to what could have been a very negative occurrence for the racing industry as a whole. I also want to thank the New York State Racing and Wagering Board and Chairman John Sabini for helping us gain expedient approvals for a number of customer service initiatives.”
NYRA launched a number of initiatives shortly before and after the closure of NYCOTB on December 7, 2010, including:
· Offering bus service to and from NYCOTB parlor locations in Brooklyn,
· Opening the Belmont Café simulcast center at
· Numerous enhancements to the NYRA Rewards experience, including: Live video streaming of the top signals in the country, instant sign-up, and monthly promotions like double cash rewards, bet $100, get $100, and 50 percent more rewards points in April
· The restoration of racing content via the NYRA Network, to Channel 71 of Time Warner’s basic cable system, formerly the NYCOTB Racing Network
· Opening for simulcasting seven days a week at both Aqueduct and the Belmont Café, including extended nighttime hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
The closure of NYCOTB was the major contributing factor to a $63 million decrease in wagering on NYRA races from the downstate NYOTB’s. Despite that decline, total all-sources handle (including money bet on simulcast races) during the Aqueduct meeting was only down 4.2 percent total, $505 million this year compared to $527 million last year. Comparing the daily averages, total handle was down only 1.6 percent, $6.9 million on average this year compared to $7 million last year.
“Despite our total handle being down marginally, the fact that we make approximately three times the revenue for an on-track wager as compared to wagers made at a NYCOTB parlor allows us to offset much of that lost handle revenue,” said
Attendance and on-track handle also posted huge gains on Aqueduct’s biggest day of the meet, Resorts World New York Casino Wood Memorial Day on Saturday, April 9. Wood Day attendance was up 42 percent, on-track handle was up 48 percent, and total all-sources handle on Aqueduct’s races was up 5 percent.
Below are the exact totals and daily averages for the 2011 Aqueduct meeting as compared to last year:
Racing Days
73 v. 75
Attendance
Up 47.7 percent total (322,165 vs. 218,078)
Up 51.8 percent average (4,413 vs. 2,908)
On-Track Handle (including simulcast races)
Up 74.6 percent total ($144,463,747 vs. $83,239,250)
Up 78.3 percent average ($1,978,955 vs. $1,109,857)
On-Track Handle (just NYRA races)
Up 38.4 percent total ($58,741,413 vs. $42,455,943)
Up 42.1 percent average ($804,677 vs. $566,079)
Total Handle (including simulcast races)
Down 4.2 percent total ($504,861,997 vs. $527,025,292)
Down 1.6 percent average ($6,915,918 vs. $7,027,004)
Total Handle (just NYRA races)
Down 13.8 percent total ($419,139,663 vs. $486,241,985) **Down $63,518,295 NYOTB Downstate
Down 11.4 percent average ($5,741,639 vs. $6,483,226)
Attendance 31,864
Handle (including simulcast races) $16,427,166
Handle (just NYRA races) $4,825,970
NYRA Rewards Breakdown
Phone up 95 percent total ($13,153,013 vs. $6,744,458)
Internet up 147.3 percent total ($20,349,569 vs. $8,230,248)
-30-
