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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt |
Hampered by a 20.3% drop in handle in December, wagering in the United States declined 7.2% in 2008 to record the lowest overall total in a decade.
Total commingled wagering on U.S. races and separate pool wagering in Canada totaled $13,670,196,938, down from the $14,723,993,055 wagered in 2007, according to data released Jan. 6 by Equibase.
The annual handle represented a 9.9% decline from the record $15,178,510,116 registered in 2003 and was the lowest total recorded for U.S. handle since an estimated $13.115 billion was wagered in 1998, according to data published in The Jockey Club Fact Book.
Wagering was affected by a number of factors in 2008, including a severe downturn in the U.S. economy, as well as disputes between various parties on signal distribution to advance deposit wagering entities that operate Internet, telephone, and mobile device betting platforms.
Christopher Scherf, executive director of the Thoroughbred Racing Association, which represents more than 40 racetracks in the U.S. and Canada, said the wagering decline was “drastic,” but not totally surprising.
“But it was maybe more than anyone expected,” he said.
Scherf feels the main cause for the steep drops should be attributed to economic turmoil in the U.S., but acknowledges the industry is not without fault in alienating bettors.
“I have no doubt that the account wagering debacle was harmful to our business at the worst possible time,” he said. “I also think that this should be a wakeup call to our industry that … we need to keep focused on the issues of pari-mutuel wagering and the bettors.
“Those things need to get equal attention of our industry in addition to other issues that are being addressed, such as equine safety, jockey safety, medication, etc," he continued. "The first voice we need to listen to are the bettors. If we are not meeting their needs, and obviously we are not, we need to figure out ways to address those.”
Annual purse payouts declined 1.3% to $1,160,313,672, the first drop in three years. Purses paid in December totaled $60,123,263, a 13.4% decline from a year ago.
Overall race days in 2008 fell 1.2% to 6,095, down from 6,168 in 2007. There were 9.6% fewer race days in December, falling from 365 to 330.
United States total pari-mutuel handle | |
| Year | Total pari-mutuel handle* |
| 1997 | $12,542 |
| 1998 | $13,115 |
| 1999 | $13,724 |
| 2000 | $14,321 |
| 2001 | $14,599 |
| 2002 | $15,062 |
| 2003 | $15,180 |
| 2004 | $15,099 |
| 2005 | $14,561 |
| 2006 | $14,785 |
| 2007 | $14,725 |
| 2008 | $13,670 |
| *Dollars in millions | |
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