Handle declines at Belmont
meet
All-sources handle for the recently-concluded 64-day Belmont Park
Spring/Summer Meet decreased 13.9 percent from 2008 totals, in contrast with
industry-wide decreases of 16.9 percent in June and 10.5 percent through the
first six months of 2009 compared to 2008 figures. Incessant rain throughout the
meet resulted in 77 races taken off the turf and many more turf races which
could not be carded.
Daily average all-sources handle for the meet, which includes money bet on
Belmont Park races from simulcast outlets nationwide, was $9,841,614, down 13.9
percent from $11,424,237 in 2008. Total all-sources handle was $629,863,276,
down from $662,605,734 for the 58-day Belmont Park Spring/Summer Meet in 2008.
Daily average on-track handle for races conducted at Belmont Park was
$991,603, down 17.5 percent from $1,202,108 in 2008. Total on-track handle for
2009 was $63,462,612, compared to $69,722,257 in 2008.
Daily average attendance was 5,588, down 17.2 percent from 6,752 in 2008.
Total attendance for the 64-day 2009 meet totaled 357,659, down from 391,634 for
the 58-day meet in 2008. (2008 attendance was inflated by a Belmont Stakes Day
crowd of 94,476 when a Triple Crown was on the line, compared to 52,861 in
2009.)
On-track handle for 2009 Belmont Stakes Day, June 6, was $9,021,196, a 2
percent increase over $8,843,720 in 2007, the most recent year when a Triple
Crown was not on the line. Total all-sources handle was $89,705,994 — the
biggest ever in a non-Triple Crown year — an 18.6 percent increase over 2007,
and only a 10.2 percent decrease over 2008 (which was the second highest
all-sources handle in Belmont Stakes Day history).
“The Belmont Park Spring/Summer Meet witnessed some tremendous racing
performances, such as Summer Bird’s triumph in the Belmont Stakes,” NYRA
President and CEO Charles Hayward said. “The real story of the meet, however,
was the horrendous weather as evidenced by the remarkable number of 77 races
washed off the turf and many more races that could not be carded on the turf due
to the unrelenting rain.”