Attendance and handle both fell during the 83-day 2005 Winter/Spring Meet at
Aqueduct, which ended on May 1. Daily average on-track handle dropped 15
percent, from $1,288,311 last year to $1,094,629 this season. The New York
Racing Association (NYRA) on-track handle part of it also declined, falling 17.4
percent to $633,496 compared to $767,221 in 2004, which conducted one more day
of racing.
All sources total average handle of $7,765,246 dropped 10.4 percent from 12
months ago when it was $8,663,317. Attendance fell 18 percent from a daily
average of 3,874 to 3,178.
“We anticipated a 10-percent decline in all-sources handle after we
discontinued our simulcast relationship with 10 rebate sites in late January
that collectively accounted for $300 million in annual handle on New York Racing
Association races,” NYRA Senior Vice President Bill Nader said.
“There are three other majors reasons for the decline in numbers at
Aqueduct. First of all, our customers had to adjust to our new tote system.
Secondly, there was a decline in the size of our fields. At one point, we had to
be very restrictive of horses coming in from racing jurisdictions where horses
were infected or in contact with the disease called strangles and in recent
weeks, equine herpes. Finally, the uncertainty of weather caused many problems,
particularly in a very unseasonably cold March.”