If handle declined for this year’s Grade 2 Charles Town Classic card, why was Erich Zimny smiling? Because it was still the track’s third-busiest day ever.
Bad weather and cutthroat competition made for a tough winter for Laurel Park, which saw wagering decline by nearly 20 percent.
Through the first two months of the year, Thoroughbred racing’s economic indicators for 2014 lag behind those of 2013.
Wagering on races run in the United States was flat in January 2014 versus a year ago, as were the purses paid. But the number of racedays grew.
Despite difficult weather, every Penn National card in January topped $1 million in wagering, the first month that’s happened in the oval’s 43-year history.
Total handle on Delaware Park’s live racing declined slightly, but with fewer days of live racing, the daily average showed solid gains.