Numbers Up Midway Through Saratoga Meet

Handle, attendance numbers after the first 20 days of Saratoga Race Course's meet.

The second half of the Saratoga Race Course season began on Aug. 11.

If the final 20 days are as good as the first 20, the New York Racing Association will have nothing but good memories of the summer of 2022.

The numbers for the first half of the meet are better than they were a year ago.

The on-track betting total for 20 days is $72,999,891, up from $67,917,739 in 2021, a 7.5% increase. Export numbers for 2022 are $357,888,922 for an all-source total of $430,888,813 (average daily handle $21,544,441). In 2021, those numbers were $333,650,730 for an all-source total of $401,568,468 (average daily handle of $20,078,423).

Export numbers, all-sources, and average daily handle are all up 7.3% this summer.

Attendance is also up as Saratoga has had 512,683 paid admissions after 20 days compared to 502,266 for the first 20 days of 2021.

In both years, 204 races were run over the first 20 days. The average field size thus far in 2022 is 7.85 compared to 7.73 last year. 

Only five races were taken off the grass in the first 20 days; 97 were run. In 2021, 21 races were moved off the grass in the first 20 days and 86 were run.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/262136/numbers-up-midway-through-saratoga-meet