'The overall quality of races has been good. Zia, in particular, made a big move this year by working with horsemen to run fewer days while offering higher purses, and bettors responded to the day-in-day-out better product with a 57.7 percent increase in handle per race. Penn National Gaming owns Mahoning Valley Race Course and Zia Park, which are up 30.4 percent and 55.1 percent, respectively. It's not just the 'major league' circuits holding sway. 'While we are proud of our results, we are also focused on the industry trends and opportunities that will help us navigate these headwinds.' horse supply and larger macro-economic factors like inflation and the uncertainty of the U.S. 'The results are especially encouraging considering the industry trends our sport is facing with increased competition from sports betting, growing purses.

'Our 2023 Thoroughbred racing meeting produced very strong results thanks to our exciting racing product, the strength of the Woodbine brand, and the hard work of our team and the entire Woodbine horse racing community,' CEO Miachel Copeland said. Woodbine raced another week compared with last year, but even on a per-race basis, handle was up 3.5 percent with total handle up 23.4 percent. 17 also posted big gains in the time period. While two meetings that recently opened have done well, another that closed Dec. All other tracks are down 1.7 percent in the same period. The three CDI-owned tracks accounted for $190.6 million of the total handle since Breeders' Cup for a 16.9 percent share of the overall market. 'We've put a lot of focus into improving the racing product-both for our horsemen and horseplayers-and appreciate the positive response from both groups, which has led to positive handle numbers,' Churchill executive director of racing Gary Palmisano Jr. A 20.7 percent increase in purses and a more reliable turf course likely have helped Fair Grounds, but Turfway is racing off a very similar book as last year, as purses are up just 3.3 percent there.

17, respectively, are doing especially well.įair Grounds is up 43.7 percent, and Turfway is up 54.9 percent. All three posted increases in the period, and Turfway and Fair Grounds, which opened Nov. Leading the charge was Churchill Downs Inc., whose portfolio of five Thoroughbred facilities includes three that run dates after the Breeders' Cup: its flagship facility in Louisville, Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky and Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

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