Total wagering and the number of race days were lower compared to a year ago in May, but available purses were on the uptick, according to information released by Equibase on Friday.
Total wagering of $1,387,522,075 on races during the month represented a 4.01% decrease over the same period from 2025, while available purses of nearly $123 million were higher by 0.12%.
The figure of over $118 million for paid purses in May was also up by 0.09%. As for the total number of race days, they decreased from 365 to 345 (-5.48%) and the number of U.S. races was lower from 2,933 in May 2025 to last month's tally of 2,779 (-5.25%).
Average field size in May was down from over a year ago when it was 7.09, and checked in at an average of 6.92 runners, a decrease of 2.31%. Average daily wagering increased by 1.56% to $4,021,803 and the average available purse number per race day was up 5.92% to $356,322 from the figure of $336,404 in 2025.
When it comes to the year-to-date figures, through May of 2025 wagering on U.S. races came in at just over $4.8 billion, while this year the amount is $4.613 billion (-4.48%). Those numbers include worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.
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