Gio Ponti in the Man o’War (Mickey Frome)

Since today was the perfect July afternoon, I can now complete my apples to apples handle and attendance comparison to Mother Goose day (which is great because I was starting to get a little tired of doing it).

Both Saturday June 27th and Saturday July 11th boasted beautiful weather and a single Grade 1 on the card.

Saturday June 27th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 13352
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,357,534
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,657,212
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,361,822

Saturday July 11th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 6735
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,283,177
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,821,920
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,312,667

Mother Goose day had an increase of:
6617 / 49% in attendance
$74,357 / 5% of on track handle
$49,155 / 1% in interstate wagering (ISW)

No doubt some will dismiss the on track handle increase because it’s relatively small compared to the near 50% attendance increase, however it’s still an increase.

Does that mean having and marketing stars will “save racing”? Not by itself, but it certainly helps get people to track, and in my experience (both of my own when I started going to the track and with folks I’ve taken) if they keep coming back they start to wager more as they get more comfortable. And who doesn’t want that to happen?

Posted by dana on Jul 11 2009    
Filed Under: 2009, Handle, Becoming a Fan, NYRA, Belmont, Marketing, Racing

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Rachel beginning to pull away (Jason Moran)

Robert at They’re in the Gate already posted about this but in my previous post on the matter, Rachel Raises Attendance AND Handle, I stated that I would follow-up with a comparison of this Saturday, so what the heck!

Saturday June 27th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 13,352
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,357,534
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,657,212
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,361,822

Saturday July 4th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 7,667
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,378,296
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,969,277
ISW Mutuel Pool: $9,564,986

Attendance down: 5,685 / 42%
On Track Handle up: $20,762 / 1.5%
ITW up: $312,065 / 12%
ISW up: $1,203,164 / 14%

Robert already pointed a couple of things, such as last Saturday had not only 1 stakes race vs. 3 on this Saturday’s card, but 3 that were a lot more wide open from a gambling perceptive than the Mother Goose. This Saturday also had an additional race.

One interesting uptick was that the bump in the Intra-State wagering. I’m wondering if this had anything to do with Sweetnorthernsaint at Finger Lakes? While I couldn’t scare up attendance figures, according to the charts from DRF, handle from last Saturday was $596,897 while handle from this Saturday was $623,518, an increase of 4.5%. Probably not a direct cause but perhaps a contributing cause.

Now that I feel somewhat committed to the quest to find a true apples to apples comparison, I’m going to do this (hopefully only) one more time. The next three Saturday’s at Belmont are similar in conditions to Mother Goose day, one featured stakes race on the card and no national holiday. Let’s hope one (if not all) of them has spectacular weather so we can get a fair gauge of the impact of a marquee star.

Posted by dana on Jul 05 2009    
Filed Under: Jason Moran, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, Handle, Industry, NYRA, Wagering, Belmont, Marketing, Racing

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Rachel and Calvin bringin’ home the bacon. (Sarah K. Andrew)

I don’t subscribe to the theory that any one thing can “save” racing, but a quick look at the attendance and handle figures from the last two Saturdays at Belmont indicate that having well publicized stars around helps not only attendance but the bottom line.

Saturday June 20th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 4703
On Track Mutuel Pool: $863,292
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,116,700
ISW Mutuel Pool: $5,246,269

Saturday June 27th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 13352
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,357,534
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,657,212
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,361,822

That’s an increase of:
8649 / 65% increase in attendance
$494,242 / 36% of on track handle
$3,115,553 / 37% increase in interstate wagering

I’m never sure if IST/ISW includes ADW wagering, I assume it does. ITW, or tracks within New York, didn’t show a notable increase. Sure, per capita wagering could always be better but you gotta start somewhere!

Players definitely took advantage of getting a freebie in multi-race wagers with the Pick 4 and Pick 6 pools pretty much doubling.

Pick 4 Pool:
Saturday June 20th, 2009: $257,050
Saturday June 27th, 2009: $484,588
$227,538 / 47% increase

Pick 6 Pool:
Saturday June 20th, 2009: $61,617
Saturday June 27th, 2009: $138,250
$76,633 / 55% increase

The feature on the 20th was a Grade 3, not a Grade 1… perhaps a comparison to this coming Saturday, July 4th with the Suburban, Prioress and Dwyer + a holiday would be a better comparison. Either way, I think it’s safe to say that having/keeping stars around can only help.

Posted by dana on Jun 28 2009    
Filed Under: Industry, Sarah K. Andrew, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, Handle, Pick 6, Pick 4, Belmont, Wagering, Calvin Borel, Marketing, NYRA, Racing

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