Even with tracks emerging from coronavirus shutdowns throughout May, Thoroughbred racing handles for the month plummeted compared to their 2019 totals, according to Equibase’s monthly report on horse racing’s economic indicators. The biggest individual culprit for May’s decline was easy to pinpoint: no Kentucky Derby and no Preakness Stakes. The […]
Tag: Business Of Horse Racing
Minnesota Race Fans Can’t Attend, Can’t Bet on State Races
Minnesota horse racing fans find themselves in the strange place of not being able to bet on races at state tracks after a bill provision allowing advance deposit wagering (ADW) for in-state races failed in the state legislature. The amendment allowing in-state ADW came out of a bill just as […]
After Three Races, Charlatan’s Breeding Rights Sold to Kentucky Farm
He has all of three races and one stakes victory under his tack. And now, Charlatan has a new home once his racing career is finished. Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Lexington, KY. announced it bought Charlatan’s breeding rights for an undisclosed amount. The announcement came less than a week […]
The Jockey Club Introduces New Limit on Stallion Breeding
In a significant effort to reduce overbreeding among thoroughbred horses, The Jockey Club implemented a new rule limiting stallions to covering (or mating with) 140 broodmares per year. The new rule, which The Jockey Club said is “to preserve the health of the Thoroughbred breed for the long term…†goes […]
April Racing Handle Tells Two Different Stories on COVID-19 Effects
When Equibase released its monthly report of Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing earlier this week, the numbers told two different stories about the COVID-19 effect on handle. And by default, the effect on the sport itself. The first: that total wagering dropped 24.4% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. […]
Fasig-Tipton Combines Three Major Horse Auctions Into One Showcase
Recognizing a sagging market for yearlings amid the coronavirus pandemic, renowned thoroughbred auction house Fasig-Tipton announced plans to consolidate three yearling sales into one. The company merged the Saratoga and New York Bred sales scheduled for July into the 2020 Selected Yearlings Showcase, scheduled for Sept. 9-10 at its Lexington, […]
Officials Freeze Saudi Cup Purse Pending Internal Investigation
In the latest fallout from a long-running horse doping scandal ensnaring some of the sports top trainers and veterinarians, the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia announced it is withholding the purse distribution for the $20 million Saudi Cup pending its own internal investigation. Maximum Security won the Feb. 29, $20 […]
California Trainers Seek Greener Fields, Golden Opportunities in Arkansas
You can look at the migration of California trainers and jockeys to Arkansas as a necessary move in the COVID-19 era of closed racetracks around the country. How else to keep horses not just training, but running for purses, and owners not running from the sport? Or you could take […]
Promising Pedigree: Constitution Progeny Showing What’s in Sire’s DNA
His racing career was promising, but unfulfilled – four victories in eight starts. Even being a son of standout sire Tapit, there was nothing in the crystal ball foreshadowing what awaited Constitution in the stallion shed. Which illustrates why horse breeding is such an inexact science, and why semi-royal bloodlines […]
No Surprise: Horse Racing Handle Takes Huge Hit in March
With the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic closing racetracks and limiting betting opportunities at the few still facilities that remain open, horse racing wagering dropped sharply in March, falling 22.6% from its 2019 totals. Bettors placed $731 million in wagers during March, a $214 million drop from last year. Equibase released the […]