Horse racing’s Saratoga Season ends
This year again, no less than last year, Saratoga was at the very centre of horse racing in America. The 40 day event gathered crowds and pulled more in wagers than was expected in this economy. There were those who believed that the event was being stretched too thin and a competitive schedule could not be provided for the extended event. Things have clearly turned out differently. NYRA continued to provide full fields and worthwhile purses throughout the event.
Saratoga wasn’t just a racing event. It featured BBQs, parties, Music Festival, a bear fest and even an ice cream eating competition. While all of that served to keep the crowds entertained and involved, the real horse racing fans wanted races. The meet offered 9 fewer races in 4 more days making the sideshows a necessary part of the equation to make sure the shorter racing schedule didn’t leave a glaring hole in the Saratoga.
The real fans just wanted the races. Preferably graded stakes and Saratoga had plenty to offer. From Alabama to The Travers, the much talked about Personal Ensign Stakes with Rachel Alexandra in attendance and the Woodward Stakes in closing week all combined to produce the most spectacular 40 days of the yearly racing calendar.
For everything Saratoga offered, it still couldn’t change the global economy and that is not in as good a shape as it used to be. Horse racing along with everything else is feeling the pinch of tightening pockets and the generally more conservative spending trend. $1.12 billion that was bet through the past month across the country, over $353 million was wagered in Saratoga. Though that might sound like booming business, the numbers show a drop of over 2% in business this year compared to the last. That much was expected. The New York Racing Association was actually expecting a much worse hit. They estimated a 4% drop so in that regards the meet should be considered a success.
President of the NYRA, Charles Hayward, certainly thinks so. “Overall, I think the meet has really been terrific”, he said. He emphasized that on the track and in terms of business, the meet had exceeded their expectations. “On the track, I maintain that Saratoga is really about stakes races, turf races and 2-year-olds and I think those have all been strong this year”.
The number of people in attendance was down though. Compared to last year, the attendance was down a total of 5.7% to 22,384 from 23,734 from last year. Wagering fared even worse. The tracks were able to generate revenue from attendance even if the crowds didn’t feel inclined to bet on the races. Still the difference between attendance and betting was too obvious to miss. In contrast to the 5.7% drop in attendance, wagering measured an 8% decline from last year levels.
$2.9 million were bet on average at the tracks on any given day. Off track betting was better off with a daily average of $13.8 million, which was just 3.4% less than last year. Betting isn’t facing as serious a situation as one might think though fewer people now go to track and fewer still of those who do go to the tracks do so to bet on the races.
That has not deterred the NYRA. The 40 days formula would be repeated again in 2011. The numbers, though not what they wanted to see, have been fundamentally an improvement considering the state of disarray horse racing has been in lately.
NYRA is hopeful that by next year the long awaited video lottery terminals could be up and running. Charles Hayward of the NYRA had shown serious concern about the dwindling horse population. The NYRA has long argued that it needs the revenues from the VLTs to boast fields and make it worthwhile for owners and trainers to invest in the sport. Hayward went on to add that Saratoga had seen highly competitive and exhilarating racing day in and day out for 40 days at Saratoga. “Saratoga is as strong as ever”.
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